Sometimes
by Moonprincess92
Summary: Sometimes, Rose wondered how much longer they could do this back and forth thing until one of them explosively snapped. :Rose/Scorpius NextGen Complete:
1. Part One

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Rose, Scorpius, mutual friends, arguments, or strange relationships.  
I don't own the 'sometimes' theme, the credit for that idea is all Eienvine's.  
I also don't own the cover art, that was done by BncaRes on DeviantArt.

* * *

Sometimes.

Sometimes, Rose wondered how much longer they could do this back and forth thing until one of them explosively snapped. :Rose/Scorpius NextGen:

* * *

PART ONE

Sometimes, Rose Weasley woke up and wondered what the hell was wrong with her life.

* * *

_June, 2022 _

"Rose …?" Scorpius's voice was bewildered, and Rose glanced up with bleary eyes to see the tall, sixteen year old, standing in front of her in the corridor. Blimey, was that the _moon_ shining through the window?

"Oh, my god, what time is it?" she moaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Nearly nine – have you been here _all_ evening?" Scorpius asked, snorting with laughter at her.

"Ever since classes ended," Rose admitted. If she'd had the strength, she might have snapped at him to go away. She _really _didn't have the patience for his teasing comments at the moment, and her arse hurt from sitting on the cold, corridor floor, for the past several hours.

"Holy shit, Rose!" Scorpius' face was unbearable now, grinning as he folded his arms. "You know that there's this place called the _library_, right? I believe I once said it was the love-child of you and Madam Pince!"

"You are not in the _least_ bit funny, dickhead," Rose grumbled, clambering to her knees with a groan and starting to collect her books and notes. "I needed to get out. The silence was doing my head in."

"You look like shit."

"No kidding," Rose pointed out, standing warily. "Transfiguration is a bitch and is _totally_ going to kill me."

"But, I thought you were the _top_ in Transfiguration!" Scorpius grinned, gasping in mock horror. "You are in everything else!"

"Shut up–"

"Oh, well, I guess you could just ask the _actual _top of the class to help you out," he continued, as if she'd never spoken. "I forget, who was that again …?"

"You know, I _really_ would hit you for that," Rose pointed out, since they both very well knew that Scorpius was the top in Transfiguration. He'd only been giving her hell for it their entire past five years at Hogwarts castle. "but I'm so tired I can't even be bothered throwing my book at your face. So forgive me if I don't retaliate and simply walk away now."

"Aw, c'mon, Rose – ROSE!" Scorpius yelled after her, doing a half run, half skip next to her as he tried to keep up as she strode away down the corridor. "God, you're hilarious when you're sleep-deprived and grumpy–"

"I'll give _you_ grumpy–" She swore under her breath, making a mental note to Albus to _never_ forgive him for becoming friends with Scorpius in the first place. If they'd never have met on that first ever train ride to Hogwarts, then they never would have become inseparable, and she would have _never_ been forced to talk to him at all for his cousin's sake, let alone spent the worst parts of the last five years hanging out in the _same group_ as him.

Rose didn't get it. The guy was a loud, arrogant _arsehole_; why the hell was quiet and calm Albus _friends_ with him? Unfortunately for her, Scorpius and Albus seemed to be joined at the hip, like conjoined twins. In fact, he was around her cousin so often that, sometimes, Rose actually wondered if Albus waited until he was there before seeking Rose out. Ever since they began Hogwarts, Albus had been wishing that his two best friends would get along. Hell, he hadn't exactly been _subtle_ in hinting that he thought they would even make a pretty brilliant couple; he'd gone so far as to shut them up in the same room at one point!

_Those _results hadn't been pretty.

As a result, Rose had had far too much interaction with Scorpius Malfoy for her liking.

"Look, I get it!" Scorpius jumped in front of her now, effectively cutting her off and she growled. "Despite all your book smarts, you _suck _at Transfiguration. And our exam is tomorrow."

"Do you have a point?"

"As much as I enjoy witnessing a good Weasley Panic …" Scorpius pointed out. "Come with me."

* * *

They found an empty classroom and studied until midnight. He quizzed her excitedly, yelling out, "Ring-ding-ding!" noises when she got something right, and hitting her over the head with her text book when she was wrong. At one point, the stress of the past week got to her and she fell asleep on the floor, head resting against his thigh. He teased her mercilessly when she woke.

They had left that classroom with barely a 'good luck' exchanged, though she _did_ end up passing her Transfiguration O.W.L. in the end (barely, but still!).

Albus wasn't at all surprised when Rose refused to speak to Scorpius Malfoy for the rest of the school year.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose thought their relationship was rather screwed up. It was always one step forward, several steps back …

* * *

_December, 2023 _

Daniel Kingswood cheated on her, and Rose had never felt so humiliated.

She'd honestly thought things were fine. They say that the woman always knows, but Rose simply hadn't seen this coming. _Surely_ there were signs?

She drew her legs into her chest and tried to keep the tears from causing sobs that echoed down the corridor. She could no longer hide in her dormitory. Not with reminders of Valerie all over the place, from her bloody perfume, to the entire contents of her wardrobe strewn across her bed. And the Gryffindor Common Room was completely out; not with Daniel and Valerie snogging over every inch of it. An absolute, collosal _douchebag_, that's what he was! And Valerie, well, everyone knew _she_ was a Class A Slut.

Who was she kidding? Of course there were damn signs!

She'd just been so caught up in the whirlwind of first loves and intense fireworks exploding behind her eyes that she'd refused to open up and see them.

She wasn't even surprised when Scorpius showed up. She didn't expect Albus; tears scared the heck out of the poor boy, and since Scorpius had caused a few of them over the years (which she only admitted _reluctantly_) he was a bit more accustomed to handling them. She had already half-thought that her cousin would send his best friend to go and do his dirty work for him.

"… so you found out, huh?" he said bluntly, sitting next to her in the alcove.

"Thanks mate," Rose sniffed, hastily turning away and wiping a sleeve across her eyes. "I had completely forgotten about it, but needed that reminder!"

"Just saying," he shrugged. There was still half a metre of space between them, which Rose was thankful for. She didn't want to say it – she didn't even particularly want to think it in her head – but she was a _little_ glad that he was there with her. Having spent the last seven years teasing and mocking him, that thought was definitely enough to terrify her. So space … space was good. Space was what she needed.

She could work with that.

"Go on, then," she said darkly, still talking to the empty corridor. "Tell me that I had it coming, or how could I possible not tell, or whatever comment you've got for me. I can't exactly get more pathetic than this, right? So whatever it is, I can take it!"

"All right then," Scorpius said. She turned to face him and _hated_ the fact that idiots were always cursed with good-looking faces. Was life ever fair? Scorpius stared back at her and, just for a second, she thought she saw something _other_ than his usual derisive smirk. She thought his look might have even been a bit … protective.

But, of course, she was just going crazy, that's all.

"Daniel Kingswood is an effing bastard and deserves what's coming to him."

And that was all he said before punching her on the shoulder and striding away.

The next day, Daniel was put in the hospital wing by a pack of fellow seventh-year boys; it was never officially said by whom, but judging by the sudden detentions handed out, Rose guessed that Albus, Hugo and Scorpius had been a part of the scheme.

She never said thank you. In fact, the incident was never ever mentioned again.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose wished that he didn't secretly care so damn much. It was far less complicated that way.

* * *

_November, 2024 _

Rose Weasley had _never_ had a worse day.

She'd been excited at first, to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was going to be paid absolutely nothing for the first six months, but she didn't care; it was a foot in the door, and it was exactly the type of career she wanted! Who got that, straight out of school? The fact that it was her mother's department did nothing to deter her. She knew Hermione Weasley was a professional. Just because she was her daughter meant nothing (a statement that Rose sometimes thought was true at home as well, but please, let's not get into _that_ right now). She'd be treated like any other unpaid intern.

Well. She regretted _that_ almost the second she walked through the doors.

It didn't help that the interns were treated like your typical homeless _dog_; no one got close to you and instead, yelled insults to get you off their garden. Rose had started at the same time as two other interns: first, a woman called Agatha, who at forty, was apparently 're-discovering her career' and fit in slightly better with the workers who were more her age. The other, a young dark-haired girl named Eve, was treated along the same lines as Rose, being nineteen and rather timid at first impression. Rose had quickly bonded with the girl, protecting her from the hurtful comments and teasing, and as a result, she'd made a new friend.

Friends were nice. She'd lost contact with most of the friends she'd had at Hogwarts, and they'd barely been out one summer.

But Rose wasn't just an intern; she was the boss's daughter. So, _naturally_, that meant she was getting a leg up the corporate ladder, so to speak.

She'd never been more furious at her mother for letting her department act like this.

"I'm sure that Mrs Weasley didn't mean it like that," Eve was insisting, the two of them thankfully leaving the Ministry after an extremely trying day. "_I_ thought the report was fine."

"She didn't have to rip it apart," Rose moaned, rubbing at the prickling in her eyes as she thought about when the report had come back that afternoon. After constant ribbing about her mother giving her unfair help, she'd at least been able to take it – she would have deserved it – if she knew it were true; but after reading her mother's ruthless comments about what needed changing on the report, she'd hit the last straw. She was being treated so _unfairly_ and she couldn't see a way out of it.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Eve said then, as the lift opened with a clatter out into the Atrium. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I'll cook, and we can complain together about our co-workers?"

"Eve, you are amazing, but I think this is a night where I just need to wallow in solitude," Rose said, giving her new friend a grin. "I'll see you tomorrow, though. Time in Hell: 84 days down!"

"Only another 46 to go!" Eve answered with a small smile. "Have a good evening, Rose."

Rose wished the same for her friend, but doing so was another thing entirely. Once Rose reached her cold, empty flat, she starting wishing she'd taken up Eve's offer. While angry, Rose was definitely best left to let out her frustrations on her own. However, now, she was just _upset_, and if there was a time she really needed other people to reassure her, it was then.

She didn't want to disturb Eve from her evening (and secretly, she didn't want to drive Eve away with her emotional dramas; she'd only _just_ made friends with the girl, after all!) but Albus was currently out of town for his own new job at the Ministry. She couldn't go to anyone in her family, lest her frustrations get back to her mother.

That left only one person.

"… holy shit, _Rose_?" Scorpius was right to look god-smacked. She hadn't been able to hold back her tears on the way here and now, he'd answered the door to find her sobbing on his door-step.

"I … I had a bad day …" she sobbed. "Can … can I have a hug?"

He half looked like he wanted to make fun of her for it. If it had been seven years ago, he certainly would have. But for some reason, despite all the things he'd done to prove that she hated the man, she knew that she … kind of cared. She wouldn't call him a 'friend', but he mattered to her like a friend did. She would _never ever_ admit it on this side of the grave, least to all to Albus, who would have given an arm and a leg to hear her say it, but for all his faults, Scorpius was generally … _not that bad_. He got under her skin, but sometimes … it was in a good way.

And sometimes, this weird back-and-forth thing they had kept her grounded. She knew that he cared about her as well, but for anything that happened, she was glad to take the step back. It kept her sane.

Scorpius just snorted at her as if to say, 'Of course, here we go again,' but he still held out his arms. She threw herself into them for what she realised was probably the first time their entire lives. His arms smelled musty and boyish, like he'd been holed up in his room all day and hadn't showered, but he also felt warm and _safe_.

All she came for was the hug. She left soon after.

They didn't speak to each other for another seven months.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose wished _she _didn't care.

* * *

_June, 2025 _

Scorpius got engaged and Rose almost laughed when Albus told her it was called off only four months later.

She had _no_ idea what possessed him to think it was a good idea; it wasn't as if she and Scorpius really had open, heart-to-heart chats whenever they were forced together, after all. Unfortunately, she was extremely curious in nature, and her head simply wouldn't leave her alone until she found out. Was it something he did? Something _she _did? They had been together less than a year and c'mon, Scorpius was barely nineteen years old! Baring in mind that this was all according to Albus's gossip … oh, who was she kidding? The only question that needed answering was what on earth had led to him _proposing_ in the first place?

"… and I can't pretend that I'm not leaping for joy, either!" she grinned as Scorpius just glared at her. "C'mon, even _you_ have to admit that Leah was a raging bitch!"

"So you got on well, then?" Scorpius scowled.

"Aw, c'mon," Rose rolled her eyes. "I think it was fairly obvious that I hated the woman. Even _Albus _hated her, but of course he was too nice to say so. At least I wasn't!"

"I'm painfully aware," Scorpius muttered. Geez, if he was _that _messed up, Rose didn't know why he'd even bothered to come to Albus's for dinner. Her cousin insisted on it every few weeks or so, mainly to catch up with each other and maintain the friendships that had been between them for so long. While Albus was typically one of those people who could become friends with anyone and keep them close forever, the friends Rose _had_ exchanged odd letters with straight out of school had eventually tapered out (not that Rose had had many of those; most of her classmates had been under the impression that she was a little bit insane. Most of the friends she'd had, had been friends with Albus first). However, Scorpius Malfoy, Rose grudgingly admitted, was the one person who she'd remained reluctantly in contact with.

Not that she ever _did_, y'know, contact him. She'd thankfully survived her Internship from Hell and earned a permanent position as a training member of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, along with Eve (Agatha, thankfully, deciding to apply for the Administrative Registration Department which, yes, was as boring as it sounded). Since her training started in full-force, and she was working along-side twenty others all in the same boat, work had finally become a place she _wanted _to go.

There was no need for Scorpius's hugs, anymore.

Not that she, y'know, _wanted _them.

"Look, you got a little screwed in the head," she said. "Doesn't everyone at some point? You made a mistake, time to move on!"

"Rose, have _you_ ever been in love?"

The question threw her off guard and for a moment, she simply stammered at him.

"I … uh …" God, how to answer that question? "I thought I had. But I was sixteen. What did I know, really?"

"Exactly," Scorpius glanced up at her then and she got her first, _really_ good look at him since the whole Leah thing blew up in his face. His eyes were tired, his entire demeanour giving off the idea of _defeated_. The man in front of her wasn't the one who had made fun of her the past eight years that they'd been unwilling 'friends'. He was a ghost of himself. It kind of scared her.

"I honestly loved her," he said, quietly. "and I thought that would be enough. Yes, I got _screwed in the head_, but that doesn't just make it magically ok."

"Whatever, geez!" Rose huffed. "Where's Al with the food? I'm bloody starving–"

"Oh, for god's sake!" Scorpius scowled. Rose made to dash off, but Scorpius caught hold of her arm, forcing her to come swinging back in front of him. "Would you just stop going on and _listen_ to me? I'm trying to have a moment, here!"

"Oh …" Of course, the second the words came out of his mouth, she didn't know what to say. Scorpius Malfoy _never_ needed her. She'd only ever needed him!

This was … new.

"I thought I was in control," Scorpius said quietly, not looking at her. He was still holding her arm at the elbow, however, and it was starting to get rather uncomfortable. He was staring intently at the ground, so Rose had no idea if he'd even realised that he was still touching her voluntarily. She considered pulling away, but that would do nothing but draw more attention to the fact that he was holding her in the first place! After a quick panic of internal debating, Rose decided to join him in staring at the floor.

"I thought I was handling it, but the feelings just got away from me. I was caught up in the idea that she actually _liked_ me and _showed_ it. I've never really had that before … this time, I was putting a ring on her finger before I even really knew what it meant."

"I hope you got it on sale."

"It was actually a family ring," Scorpius admitted. "Thankfully, she threw it at my head before storming out."

"Charming girl. So what led to the ultimate ring-throwing incident?"

"Everything!" Scorpius admitted. If anything, his grip on her arm seemed to tighten, much to her horror. "It started with little things, like not believing her when she said she'd been out with her friends, or being afraid to ask her questions, because I thought she might lie in answer. It got worse over the months. The last straw was when she wouldn't be an equal tenant with me on our new lease. Wanted me to be the one to sign it and be financially responsible for the flat. That started the huge argument that ended everything."

"You didn't trust her," Rose realised.

Scorpius glanced up at her then. "I didn't," he agreed, then suddenly, he glanced at his hand on her arm. He let go almost as quickly, as if her skin had electrocuted him. She breathed a sigh of relief that her insides were now no longer twisting and turning and making her feel like she was going to throw up. Thankfully, Scorpius didn't say anything about it, just continued, "After all that time, after putting my heart out on the line for her, I realised that I may trust you and Albus with my life, but I didn't trust _her_ with five Galleons. It would never have worked."

"That … that sucks."

"Had _no_ idea, Rose," Scorpius scowled.

But his comment had hit her hard; he trusted her. He didn't trust his own fiancée, but he _trusted her with his life_, despite the fact that every interaction between them was a hurtful comment or an argument.

So she slapped him on the shoulder and said she trusted him, too. Then, she promptly refused to go to one of Albus's dinner parties for the next six months.

* * *

Sometimes, Scorpius Malfoy confused the hell out of her. And she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

* * *

_July, 2028 _

It was her first murder case, and Rose was starting to feel its effects.

It hadn't been particularly gruesome or close to home – a husband was hit with a Killing Curse so the wife could collect his life insurance – but getting to the actual culprit was mentally draining. The Law Enforcement Patrol didn't handle the actual investigation of murders; they were more the clean-up crew, handling the analysing of evidence, crime scene investigation, and doing the grunt interview work that took far too much time and effort for the Aurors to do themselves. Naturally, it couldn't have been as easy as the wife doing the killing – oh no! _Of course_, she'd hired a hit-man to do it for her, and since she'd paid in a roundabout transaction of Galleons and Muggle money, it had taken _forever_ to get the account traced back to her. Rose had spent the past three days pouring over bank files, looking for any anomalies until she'd hit the jackpot.

And, of course, after all her hard work, she hadn't even gotten _some _of the credit!

"It's not _too_ much to ask, is it?" she said over the largest glass of wine she could find, Eve sitting next to her. "I helped put this woman behind bars in Azkaban, and the bloody Aurors get sung all the high praises! How the hell is that _fair_?"

"I know it's not," Eve said, gently. "We've only been fully qualified for two months, though. Other officers are noted for their dedication. We just need to keep working."

"I feel like I've _been working_ for the past three years and gotten absolutely NO WHERE!" Rose cried. "I've got all these qualifications, and _nothing_ to show for it! It's no wonder my own mother thinks I'm a bloody joke …" It wouldn't normally bother her; she'd refused to let it bother her, her entire life. But there came a point when Rose simply felt like giving up, because there wasn't any reason to keep going any more. Why work hard, when you don't even get what you deserve? Rose felt like she'd been working her arse off for _years_, and to have this shoved back in her face …

"At least we're being allowed to work on the homicides, now," Eve tried to grin. "Remember back when we were forced to answer calls about break ins and burglaries?"

"Ah, the good old days," Rose smiled back. "At least they got interesting every once in a while! That case where the bloke hid in the house and tried to duel us on his escape?"

"He _deserved_ to be put in hospital for a week," Eve pointed out. "That diamond necklace was worth millions of Galleons! I felt honoured just to _hold_ it! But you see?" she added to Rose. "Our time as a Patrol Officer hasn't been _that_ horrific so far. And …" she seemed reluctant to mention whatever was coming next, but she forced herself on, "Rose, I wouldn't worry too much about your mother. I know she's tough to handle sometimes, but she's not your direct superior anymore. We've got our own bosses to worry about, now."

Rose just snorted at that. "You _are _forgetting that Hermione Weasley is head of the entire department," she pointed out. "But … you are also right, thank god. I'd rather take Falsetto Joe over her, anyway."

"Yes, I agree. Sometimes, I even forget that men can scream that high. Then I hear Falsetto Joe, and I'm reminded," Eve laughed.

Sometimes … Rose had a lot of sometimes thoughts. Sometimes, she wished that she and her mother were closer than they were. Sometimes, Rose wondered that maybe if she hadn't been such a stubborn teenager, Hermione wouldn't have felt the need to keep her in line as an intern and therefore treat her even more harshly than normal. She wondered that, if they were closer, would Rose have ever had the guts to tell her mother how her employees treated each other, and how disheartening it was for those at the bottom of the food chain? How she'd _hated _coming into work and had started counting down the days since the first week.

But to be closer, Rose and her mother actually had to _want _that kind of relationship. And there had never been two people less alike than Rose and Hermione Weasley.

"Well!" Rose cut in over her own thoughts as cheerfully as she could. "I think more wine is needed, here! You sure you don't have anywhere to be tonight?"

"My flat is cold, damp, and I'm fairly certain that my flatmates are growing drugs out of their rooms," Eve pointed out. "Trust me, if I have the option of not going home, then I won't."

"Why don't you just move out, if you hate it so much?" Rose asked from the kitchen. She _had _to have another bottle of wine somewhere.

"The rent is cheap, and where would I go?" Eve asked, sighing. "My sister offered once to let me stay with her, but she's ten years older than me and at a completely different stage in life. It would just be _awkward_ living with her, her husband, and two kids. And I feel really bad saying this, but there is nothing on this earth that will make me live with my parents again."

"Hear, hear!" Rose agreed with a laugh. After locating the wine (thank god) and darting back into her tiny lounge to join Eve once more on the sofa, she let the wine pour and their glasses were once again full. "I forgot that you had a sister," she said. "Jasmine, right?"

"Yes," Eve nodded. "I love her dearly, but she's always been more of a cool aunt than a sister. I do love having a niece and nephew, though," she added with a smile. "I get to spoil them."

"I know what you mean," Rose agreed. "My eldest cousin, Victoire, she's just had a baby recently with her husband. They haven't picked a name yet, but he's the most _adorable _thing in the universe! Kind of wanted to steal him and take him home with me, but then I figured, that would be kidnapping … plus we've got plenty more years for that, don't we?"

"Do we?" Eve said, then.

Rose frowned at her. "What d'you mean? I'm twenty two, you've only _just_ turned twenty four!"

"But everyone I know is settling down!" Eve told her then, something like worry in her dark eyes. Rose had never even considered the idea until now. "I'll admit that I don't have many friends. But the ones I do know, like my sister and cousins, my flatmates, they are all either married, engaged, or having children. But we're still only young, isn't this the time of our lives when we're _supposed_ to mess up and make mistakes?"

"It is," Rose said, absently. Her mind was miles away since now that she thought about it, nearly all of her cousins with in _some _type of relationship, even if it was just Albus who was always swept up in _some_ new whirlwind romance with the 'love of his life' (which would probably only last a couple of months or so). Hell, even Scorpius had been engaged, once!

Rose's last boyfriend had been Jeremy Hinks, a Magical Maintenance intern who she'd gone out with for the six months of her internship. Once they had earned their respective jobs, they'd had literally no time for each other and simply parted ways. She hadn't even been entirely upset about the whole ordeal, either!

Great. Not only was her career going nowhere, but there was something wrong with her love life, too!

"Oh, god …" Rose groaned, leaning her head against the back of the sofa. "I love you, Eve, I really do, and you're the sweetest person I've ever met, but you really do know how to look on the negative sides of life, sometimes."

"I apologise," Eve said at once. "It is something I have been trying to work on, I promise!"

"Don't worry, you don't need to change yourself," Rose tried reassuring the girl that that certainly wasn't what she meant, but it appeared that Eve was having none of it.

"But I do! I want to!" Eve insisted, putting her wine glass down hastily and taking hold of her hand. "Life is hard at the moment, and I've always failed at trying to have a positive outlook. It's just not natural for me, but I've always hated the fact that I can't think positively!"

Rose thought for a moment. Then, it came to her, and she squeezed Eve's hand. "I should introduce you to Albus!" she said. "You're both so sweet and lovely, but Albus has the tendency to think _too _positively. Sometimes, he just doesn't realise that not all people are good – once, he went out with this one girl who ended up _stealing_ from him – but I reckon you'd get on like a house on fire!"

Ok, maaaaaybe, Rose just wanted to let out her inner matchmaker. Eve didn't need to know that!

While Eve's tone was joking when she agreed, Rose thought that she could detect a hint of interest in her tone. She might be shy, but Eve had come a long way since that timid, unconfident girl who had first started her internship. Rose was almost certain that Albus and Eve would be a match made in heaven. However, before she could start scheming over much more wine, there was a sudden knock at her door.

Both Rose and Eve turned to face the hallway.

"Who would that be?" Eve asked.

"I have no idea …" Rose said, honestly. It was far too late for conventional visitors, and Albus would only ever drop by unannounced if it was a real emergency. It could have been her little brother – Hugo had a strange sleep cycle, which basically involved sleeping at work and partying during the night – so she'd formed that idea in her head as she went to answer the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming – I'm NOT coming out with you tonight, Hugo–!" Rose yelled, wrenching open the door as the bangs continued. However, it was not a tall, lanky twenty year old with red curls like his sister who fell through the doorway and into her flat.

It was Scorpius.

"Finally!" he said, straightening and dusting himself off. "Took you long enough!"

"What in the world …?" Rose shook her head, slamming her front door shut. "Scorpius, what the HELL are you doing here?"

He simply shrugged. "Got bored. Needed to do something. Ooh, alcohol!" he said excitedly, having dashed down the hallway and noticed the bottle of wine still sitting on Rose's coffee table. Eve's eyes were wide as Scorpius threw himself down where Rose had been sitting, taking hold of the wine and drinking straight from the bottle.

"Um, Rose …" Eve began tentatively, leaning away from Scorpius.

"God, who the hell d'you think you are? You can't just barge into my house!" Rose cried, storming forward.

"You call this a _house_?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the tiny, one-bedroomed flat, located on the eighth floor of a large building. "… it's quaint."

"Seriously, I'm kicking your arse out of here–!"

"Name's Scorpius," he cut over her, holding out his hand to Eve next to him.

Anyone else might have scarpered for their life, but never Eve. She was much too polite for that. Nevertheless, she was hesitant as she shook his hand, muttering, "Eve Taylor …"

"Nice to meet you, Eve Taylor!" he said, cheerfully. "Though what in god's name you're doing with Rose beats the hell out of me."

"She's my friend," Eve said, then.

"Which _you _aren't," Rose said, exasperatedly. She leaned down, snatched the bottle of wine from Scorpius's hand before he could take another swig, and grabbed his ear. He yelped and hastily stood as she tugged on it. "So out you go!"

"No, seriously!" Scorpius cried as she started leading him back towards the hallway. "Look, I know I'm always an arse about it, but I kind of need to talk tonight!"

"Oh, really, about what?"

"Leah's getting married!"

That made Rose stop. She let go of his ear.

"Leah's getting _married_?" she repeated, aghast.

Scorpius nodded, face unreadable. "To a fifty-three year old bloke named _Rodger _who owns four boats and a mansion in Italy."

Shit. Rose turned to face Eve, who was still watching with interest from the sofa. Rose held out her hand for her, and helped Eve to her feet.

"I hope you don't mind," Rose said quietly to her, standing far away from where Scorpius waited impatiently on the other side of the room. "but Leah's his ex-fiancée. He won't admit it, but he'll be crushed. We can finish our bitch session tomorrow?"

"Of course," Eve said at once. She gave Rose a tight hug and Rose pressed her face into her dark waves, thankful that she had a friend like this.

"Remember, I'm totally introducing you to Al," she reminded her just as Eve was about to leave. Eve only laughed, but Rose knew it was certainly going to happen, and before the front door had even really closed behind her, Scorpius was already rounding on Rose.

"Introduce her to _Al_?" he repeated.

"Trust me, they'll be married within a year," Rose said at once. "Now is this a wine conversation? Or do we need something stronger? 'cause I think I might have some vodka left over from Albus's last cocktail night …"

"Vodka. Now."

* * *

By the time Rose wondered if this really was a good idea, she was already too far gone to even sit back on the sofa. She and Scorpius bitched about Leah together, sitting on the floor in the kitchen instead. When Scorpius had got all his frustrations out, Rose found herself rambling about her own worries.

"I'm tired, Scorpius! Just _so tired_," she said. "of working and getting nowhere! I feel like I'm about to collapse every minute of every day!"

"Go ahead, I won't blame you," Scorpius said in answer, handing her the bottle. Perhaps they _shouldn't_ have been drinking it straight like this. "Your mum's a total bitch!"

"I'd protest that," Rose said, leaning forward; her crossed legs bumped into Scorpius's in front of her. "but you're right!"

"She and Leah should make a club!"

"The We R Bitches club!"

"And we'll have a We Hate 'Em club!"

And they drank to their new club, Scorpius insisting that they wouldn't be official until they had t-shirts, and Rose unable to remember how to put a t-shirt on, let alone make one. _Blind drunk_ didn't even cover it at this point, and in the end, they had both passed out right there on the kitchen floor.

That was the first time Rose Weasley ever slept with Scorpius Malfoy.

When she woke, wincing and almost crying at the pounding in her head, Scorpius was already gone.

She became completely resolved on avoiding him for the next several months.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose thought her life was heading nowhere … but occasionally she would look up, and _he_ would be in her way. She was still trying to interpret that.

* * *

_July, 2028 _

Eve's words got to her.

_We just need to keep working_.

She was tired of working; what she really needed was a _break_, just a week off at least, to refuel and regain a better perspective on life. Besides, there's only so much you can handle before you _really_ go off the deep end.

But it was heading into summer, and like things got silly around Christmas, bodies kept dropping all throughout July and August. Time off wouldn't have been granted, even if she'd tried. So instead, she figured it was about time to grit her teeth and just _do it_. Work even harder and get the recognition she deserved. She threw herself into her job, basically living and breathing each case as if it solely rested on her to solve it.

People kept telling her that she wasn't doing herself any favours, but what did they know? Eve ended up meeting Albus by accident without Rose's matchmaking at all, since they had both arrived at her flat at the same time. Both had come to deliver the same warning: that she was only hurting herself by becoming so invested in her work.

Rose didn't listen. She didn't listen to anyone.

Then, the case happened. The young man who was killed was the same age as her – 22-years-old – with scruffy black hair and a round, oval face. At first glance when she appeared at the scene, she nearly fainted, thinking it was Albus. She had to _force_ herself to get over the initial shock and to realise that the man only bore a striking resemblance to her cousin. Someone – she thought maybe her boss, Falsetto Joe – asked her if she was ok and she waved them off. She managed to cover her area of the street, asking for witnesses, her face growing paler with each person she spoke to. Eventually, she couldn't help it: she succumbed to the fear that had grown inside of her since she'd seen that body, and she ended up spewing her guts out in the alleyway, across from where the body had been found.

Naturally, she was sent home.

Rose should have seen this coming. Not that it wouldn't have shocked her, but if she hadn't been throwing herself into each and every case, making everything personal the way she was taught _never_ to do, in hopes that she could catch every clue, analyse every piece of data, she might not have been hit so hard by this particular case.

As it was, she barely lasted the day by herself.

Come evening, after she'd drunk so much wine she couldn't think straight and could _still _remember the horribly blank look on the poor man's dead face, she knew she needed to see him. Just _see_ him, and reassure herself that Albus was, in fact, all right.

She knew she should hardly be Apparating, but nothing was going to stop her. She was at his flat, banging on the front door within twenty seconds.

However, it wasn't her cousin who answered.

"… good lord," Scorpius said in alarm.

"Where's Al?" she asked at once. "I need to see him–!"

"What the hell is wrong with you? And he's in Spain, didn't he tell you? He's the official liaison for–"

"He's _gone_?" Rose couldn't care less about the official liaison for whatever. All she wanted was her cousin. She remembered Albus coming over last week to tell her something, but honestly, she hadn't really been listening. She realised she hadn't been listening to a lot of people, recently. She'd been in the middle of a huge case at the time, and anything else kind of ended up taking a backburner. That might have included eating and sleeping, which apparently, Scorpius was noticing.

"Geez, I know that you're a workaholic as a general rule, but hell, have you eaten at _all_?" Scorpius asked in general disgust. It _wasn't_ in concern. It never was.

"I …" Rose just stared at him for a moment, trying to come up with an answer that didn't sound dangerously pathetic.

She couldn't. So, naturally, she burst into tears.

"Oh, great …" Scorpius muttered, letting her cry into his chest and shutting the door behind them. Rose barely noticed as she bunched up his shirt in her hands and she knew that the sounds she was making were ridiculous, but this certainly wasn't the first time she'd cried in front of Scorpius, and despite her wish for otherwise, she knew it probably wouldn't be the last. She wasn't even supposed to be talking to him; as far as she was aware, she was still avoiding him from last time they'd had a somewhat close moment. But she'd sort of lost track of the days (or was it months?) and she could hardly remember the time they had gotten drunk together on her kitchen floor.

Rose didn't even think to ask what Scorpius was doing at Albus's flat in the first place, if her cousin was in Spain. Scorpius didn't bother explain; he simply bent and wrapped an arm under her knees, picking her up and bringing her to the sofa. He sat down with her, her legs draped over his lap, and he simply let her cry into his shoulder.

Eventually, sometime in between her getting all of her sobs out and calming down, Rose fell asleep. When she woke in the morning, it was to find herself curled up on the sofa, practically in Scorpius's lap with his arms wrapped around her. The man had to be extremely uncomfortable since he was stuck in a sitting position, his head lolling back, as he slept awkwardly. It was clear that he hadn't wanted to move once she was asleep.

Why did she feel so comfortable in his arms?

She left without looking back. This time, she really _did_ avoid him … for the rest of the year.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose would look at herself in the mirror and wonder whether someone could see the pounding in her heart. She didn't know where it was coming from … she also didn't know how to stop it.

* * *

A/N: Oh my god, I really have no idea where this story came from. It just ... exploded out of my keyboard into something that I hope is at least somewhat coherent.

I know that I took the 'sometimes' thing from a _Pride and Prejudice/Lizzie Bennet Diaries_ fanfic that I read, which was _'Some Days'_ by Eienvine (which you should all read if you like that fandom, it's awesome). A bit different, since I used the word 'sometimes', rather than 'some days', but the theme is still the same, so credit for that goes _completely_ to Eienvine, and thank you for giving me permission. :)

I hope you all enjoyed this, and sorry for the insane length! This is only part one of three. The next will be up soon. I _really_ don't know how to write a oneshot anymore.

Please review and let me know what you think. :)

Until next time -

- Moon. :D


	2. Part Two

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Rose, Scorpius, mutual friends, arguments, dogs or strange relationships. I also don't own the 'sometimes' theme, the credit for that idea is all Eienvine's.

* * *

Sometimes.

Sometimes, Rose wondered how much longer they could do this back and forth thing until one of them explosively snapped. :Rose/Scorpius NextGen:

* * *

PART TWO

Sometimes, Rose would wonder if she really was doomed to be alone forever …

* * *

_January, 2029 _

Rose didn't get a lot of opportunity to observe Albus and Eve together.

She hadn't exactly had a lot of choice over the two meeting (in fact, she was still in counselling over the Case Incident. She knew there was a reason she'd been voted 'Most Likely to End Up in Therapy' upon leaving Hogwarts!). Though it had taken them a few weeks to actually get over themselves and just go with whatever amazing connection it was that they seemed to instantly form, they had been together nearly six months now, and Rose couldn't have been more proud of them. Albus was rather known for leaping headfirst into relationships without really considering what would happen next (with several ex 'loves of his life' to prove it) so it wasn't exactly surprising to see him so wrapped up in Eve with plain adoration on his face.

No, what surprised her was the fact that Eve returned the look.

If there was one thing that Rose had learned about her best friend over the years, it was that Eve Taylor was reserved. She wasn't without confidence; she had certainly learned to step up and look out for herself as they worked together in the Patrol. But people who didn't know her might very well call her shy, or even timid. Eve just didn't see the need to express herself and all her feelings to anyone who would listen.

Yeeeah, Rose was still trying to work on that.

Needless to say, Eve didn't give in to her own feelings very well. So when Rose finally got the opportunity to observe them, standing and talking quietly together in a quiet corner of the Burrow's crowded living room, she felt a swell of pride that Eve had never looked happier. It had been brave enough to enter the main Weasley/Potter household as it was! Rose had always thought that you'd never really lived until you had met a member of _her _family. Having gathered for a mid-winter catch up, practically every cousin, auntie or uncle that she had was packed into the one house. It was laden with your typical drama: Roxanne, trying to convince her father that her latest biker boyfriend was 'totes legit, this time!', Dominique sneaking spring rolls into her purse, Auntie Audrey bequeathing un-wanted life advice to anyone unfortunate enough to get in her way, James' latest girlfriend getting hounded with questions from Auntie Ginny, Teddy and Victoire cooing over their adorable new baby next to the fireplace, and Fred and Louis throwing dungbombs over the heads of their family, just for the pure enjoyment of it.

They were going to have to evacuate soon, but sometimes, Rose felt like this was one of the only places she really fit in.

"… can I just say how proud of you I am?" Rose grinned, stepping forward to join her cousin and best friend.

"Proud?" Eve asked as Albus smiled back, an arm wrapped around his girlfriend's waist.

"Yes, of _both _of you," Rose said. "You braved the fiery pit that is the Burrow during a family reunion! You must be stark raving _mad_!"

"My family is so plain compared to all of this," Eve laughed, gesturing around her. "I love coming here! So I guess you're right, I _must_ be insane."

"One of the many reasons I love you," Albus told her then, kissing the side of her head. Eve went slightly pink as Rose felt that pang in her chest.

Oh, yes, _that _one. The pang that told her, no matter how many times she insisted she was perfectly content to live vicariously through her friends' love lives … she would realise that it got kind of miserably lonely when you remembered that you still lived by yourself and considered a 'wild night out' as watching _two _Colin Firth films, instead of one.

Maybe she should get a dog?

Oh, yes. Because nothing says, 'I haven't had a boyfriend since I was 19' like getting a dog.

(Though dogs _are_ cute … maybe just a little one–)

(NO).

So yes, Rose hated the pang. She had constant arguments with it, telling it to bugger off and go torment some other poor old spinster, but then, she figured she was just being ridiculous.

She was arguing with a _pang_, for god's sake!

"So what've you been doing since we got here?" Albus asked her then.

"Oh, the usual," Rose shrugged. "Talking to our cousins, hiding from my mother, typical family reunion routine."

"Are you _still_ not talking to your mum?" Eve asked her, softly.

Rose hesitated. She wouldn't have said they were _not talking_, exactly. More rather … Rose avoided her at all costs, so they wouldn't _have _to talk. Thankfully, it had been years now since Rose was a little intern who answered directly to her mother, so it was easy to avoid her at work. So long as she never went home, she was golden!

"I … I wouldn't say _that _…" Rose tried to justify herself.

Albus sighed. "Rosie, your mum loves you, you know that, right?"

"Oh, yes," Rose snorted. "because I _so _get that from her. _Rose Weasley_!" she said, hands on her hips. "_You're still just a Patrol Officer? I would have thought with your brilliant brain and expertise you would be a Senior Officer by now! You're never going to live up to the ridiculous standards I've set for you if you continue to dilly-dally in grunt work for the Aurors, you know! OH! STILL not engaged_?" Rose shook her head as she continued to talk in the posh accent that, though sounded nothing like her, Rose seemed to have just associated with her mother, "_My, my, at this rate Hugo will be giving us grandchildren before you_!"

"Rosie, you–" Albus tried to cut in.

"Oh, no! There's always more! _Rose, I only want what's best for you, even though I actually have no idea who you are or anything remotely to do with your life_–!"

"Well," a cool, hurt voice cut in. "if I don't know who you are, why did I raise you for the first seventeen years of your life?"

Rose spun around to see Hermione Weasley standing not even two feet away.

_Naturally_.

"Mum–"

"I'm sorry," Hermione snapped, her face placid and calm. "I'm clearly _not_ your mother, since I have no idea about anything remotely to do with your life."

And she turned and walked away.

"Ah, hell," Rose muttered, watching her stalk off through the crowd. Hermione seemed to just vanish which, Rose supposed, she very well could of. Why would she want to stay, anyway? Rose didn't often feel sorry for her mother, but … she turned back to Albus and Eve desperately, and asked, "Was I not wrong, though?"

"You could have been nicer about it," Eve said, hesitantly.

"You should go after her," Albus pointed out.

"And say _what_?" Rose said. "Really, Al, what else could I _possibly_ say that would fix all this?"

"Anything is better than nothing," Albus said. "Y'know, Rosie, you always say that _I'm _the one who hates confrontation … but sometimes, I really think that we might be more similar than you first thought."

"Is that meant to be some wayward compliment?" Rose asked, dryly.

Albus smirked. "It was meant to be motivating. Did it work?"

Rose glared at him for a moment, before groaning. "I'm already regretting this!" she called behind her, as she moved to make her way through the crowd of family members.

"I'm proud of you, Rosie!" Albus called back.

She was glad someone was.

Rose had absolutely no idea where Hermione could have gone, so she decided to go off gut instinct; where would Rose go if she'd overheard her daughter mocking her harshly? Rose winced at her own wording, but figured she'd probably try and get away from all the chaos, without actually going so far as to flee the house. That meant outside.

Of course. Outside in the bitter cold and slushy ice that had been fluffy snow a few weeks ago.

Rose was sort of half hoping that she would be wrong, but naturally, when the time came for it, she was right. Hermione stood outside on the back deck, her winter jacket wrapped around her tightly, hugging her arms. Rose just watched her for a moment. Sometimes, in these moments when they were both absolutely still, Rose could see how she was Hermione's daughter. Rose might have her father's face and hair, but she had her mother's brown eyes, and they seemed to hold themselves in the same way; a way that suggested confidence, even when you were unsure of yourself. Rose liked to think that's what made them both Gryffindors.

The similarities ended there.

"… Mum?" she said, quietly.

Hermione turned sharply and though her face softened, her tone didn't light up when she answered, "Hello, Rose."

"Have you … I saw Dad trying to steal the spring rolls with Dominique," Rose had _no_ idea why she was making small talk; see, this is why she should never be trusted with a serious conversation! "I think he was almost waiting for you to tell him off. I'm pretty sure he secretly likes that."

"Rosie, I learned a long time ago not to come between your father and food," Hermione said, almost smiling at what seemed to be a long-forgotten memory. They were silent for a few moments, where Rose figured _nothing_ could get more awkward than this. Then, Hermione turned to face her and said, "Why are you out here? You'll catch a cold."

"So will you," Rose pointed out. But, she still said, "Look, I came to apologise."

"_Apologise_?" Hermione repeated. "You know, one of these days, Rose, you're going to realise that you can't fix everything with an apology."

"Well, what d'you want me to do?" Rose asked, irritably. "Bloody typical, I can't seem to get anything _else _right, can I?"

"You know I don't believe that."

"Do I?" Rose cried. "Mum, my entire life, you've set me up to do all these great and spectacular things, then seem to make it your entire reason for existing to tell me that I didn't do it as well as I could have! Do you even understand what that kind of pressure is _like_?"

"Rose, you _can_ do anything you set your mind to–"

"No, Mum!" Rose yelled. "No, I CAN'T! Sorry, but your daughter _isn't_ invincible! She's not even put together, not like you! I might be smart, Mum, but I'm not poised, I'm not sophisticated, I'm not _dignified_ enough for you! I'm irrational, drink far too much wine and overreact to the slightest thing! I think now is just further proof of that!"

Rose didn't even know where her anger was coming from. She knew that it had been stirring inside her for a long time; since her Hogwarts days, at least. Ever since she was young, Rose had been expected to climb mountains and leap tall buildings, and she had hated herself when she was younger when she couldn't do these things, believing that she had failed her mother. She remembered the day of her Transfiguration O.W.L. exam, how scared she had been to enter that hall and sit the theory test. Despite Scorpius's all night 'How to learn the entire Hogwarts Transfiguration curriculum in under twelve hours' session, she had almost let the blind panic and nervousness bury her, and it had only been Scorpius punching her that got her head back into the game.

She had been so worried about what Hermione would say if she failed, that she'd wanted to scream and cry. What kind of mother has those kinds of ridiculous expectations? She wasn't perfect!

"Rose, I love you," Hermione said then, unwrapping her arms and taking a tentative step forward. Or maybe she was driven forward by the sheer force of the wind. Rose didn't know. "I would say that I only want what's best for you, but that's what I always say, isn't it? I _will_ say this, then," she added, eyes bright underneath all that greying, frizzy hair. "how can you expect your children to achieve to their highest ability, if you don't _encourage_ them to aim high?"

"Mum, there's a difference between aiming high and aiming for something _impossible_," Rose tried to keep her stinging eyes under control. "What if I didn't _want _to work in Law Enforcement? Hell, what if I didn't even want to work at the bloody Ministry? What if I decided that I'm _never _going to get married? Because let's face it, that seems like a pretty solid future at the moment–!"

"Rose, I never said that you had to do any of those things!" Hermione cut in.

"The hell you didn't–!"

Rose cut herself off this time, pulling her hair back, distractedly. She was letting out her frustrations, and maybe it was a long time coming, but she didn't see how this was helping. In the end, she asked the one question she'd been dying to say her entire life:

"Mum, what do you want from me?"

Hermione stared at her like she'd never really noticed Rose before. Like she'd never realised the way her daughter crossed her arms the opposite way to her brother, or quite how tall she was, or the way she swept her fringe behind her ear, only for it to blow back across her face five seconds later. And Hermione reached out a hand, sweeping Rose's red curls back herself, her fingers lingering on her daughter's cold cheek.

"I want you to be happy," she whispered.

It wasn't perfect. And Rose certainly had some making up to do and apologies to say as well, for being as insensitive as she was. But Rose felt like her mother had finally heard her, after years of screaming and banging and not even making a sound. She was pretty sure that this wouldn't be the last discussion between them – certainly, their opposing personalities would cause a lot more arguments in the future – but maybe, just maybe, they would be willing to hear each other out.

Maybe Rose would actually like her? It was something she was willing to give a shot.

* * *

"Emotional Rose with mummy issues!" she announced, storming straight into Scorpius's flat without even knocking. "I want liquor, chocolate, and a man to listen to my troubles! Doesn't have to necessarily be in that order!"

"So the family reunion went well, I take it?" Scorpius called from the kitchen, sticking his head around the corner.

"I may or may not have somehow made promises to fix things with my mother," Rose told him. "Now are you going to get me drunk, or what?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"You know where the Vodka is."

* * *

Sometimes, it felt like a routine, or a well-rehearsed dance. A sofa to crash on, glasses to fill, and woes and tales of life to talk about … and sometimes it scared her just how well they fit together.

* * *

_January, 2029 _

"Seriously, why am I even here?" Scorpius was groaning from his end of the sofa.

"Because!" Albus answered, cheerfully. "We haven't had a night with just the three of us in ages! Plus, I love this film."

"_Why_?" Scorpius scoffed. "It's a romantic musical that was made about thirty years ago! There isn't even _one_ explosion scene in it."

"Of course," Rose muttered. "because it isn't a good film until _something's _exploded. Will your head do?"

"You know, you're not the least bit funny, Rose–"

"God, would you both give it a rest?" Albus cried, slamming hands into both Rose and Scorpius on either side of him and shoving them back down onto the sofa in his excitement. All three of them were sat together at Albus's place that he shared some flatmate that Rose had never actually bothered to learn the name of; some bloke with a fishy face and questionable hygiene. Naturally, Albus was placed between her and Scorpius. It seemed that that had been his position ever since they had been a three: Albus in the middle, ready to push them apart when things got ugly (or, if he was feeling particularly devious, to push them _together_, but Rose quite regularly never forgave him for those moments, so thankfully, they'd grown more and more sparse as the years went by).

But now her cousin was on the edge of his seat, grabbing the remote and turning up the volume in leaps and bounds. Their musically inclined film was, indeed, reaching its climatic scene, involving a dramatic stage performance, a lot of emotional singing, a pissed off lover and a wayward gun or two. Rose normally enjoyed a good musical – or a good romance for that matter – but Albus's enthusiasm for it only seemed to make her exasperated. Out of habit (because it certainly wasn't _usual_) Rose turned and caught Scorpius's eye from behind Albus's back. He looked quite thoroughly over the whole experience, not unlike her own expression, and they ended up exchanging looks that made Rose _snigger_.

She had to turn away quickly, lest he notice. Great. Before her family reunion the other week, she had already spent the last five months refusing to be in the same room as the prick, and it had been getting to the point where Albus had been starting to complain. They'd barely been tolerating each other again when Rose had needed someone to spill her guts to about her mother. This was _really _starting to get out of control now, since Albus had insisted that they get over themselves for this one night of civility to watch a film together. Now, Rose was wondering whether their brief, but still ultimately shared, exchanging of looks would result in yet _another_ month of not speaking.

Eh, well, it wasn't much of a loss, now, was it?

"Oh, come on, he's not going to get shot," Scorpius tried to reassure Albus to no avail. "He's still bloody singing, for god's sake!"

"Shut up – OH MY GOD!" Albus ended up shrieking in shock, when the gun skidded conveniently to the feet of the scorned lover.

Rose had had far too much experience with Albus's emotional responses to films and T.V. shows. She simply patted him on the back and waited for the carnage to go down. And though in the end, nobody actually got shot, her cousin was still in tears by the end of it, due to the female lead finally succumbing to the disease that had been plaguing her the entire musical.

"Good … good lord …" Albus was practically sobbing onto Rose's shoulder, completely ignoring her comforting arms and soft, 'there, there's. "That … that was amazing!"

"Amazing?" Rose repeated in bewilderment.

"Mate … the girl _died _in the end," Scorpius pointed out, and Rose shot him a contemptuous look; like Albus needed reminding!

"Oh, I know," Albus said, finally straightening. Thankfully, Scorpius had already summoned over a box of tissues and only grimaced slightly when Albus blew his nose, loudly. "but, god, that _story_! Their love was so beautiful, don't you think?"

"Eh, I figured at the very least there should have been a sex scene," Scorpius shrugged.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes, because that was totally the point of the film."

"You think so?" Scorpius's attention was on her now, and Albus was already leaning back warily, eyeing the two of them carefully. "Then what, exactly, _was _the point of the film?"

"To … I dunno, to show that real love is sometimes all you need?" Rose ventured. She didn't pretend to know all that much about Muggle Media Studies, but sometimes, she liked to think that she could gain a message from something. "and that also, sometimes, love _doesn't_ survive. It's like a reality of love thing, isn't it?"

"The whole idea of the film was that they were in a forbidden relationship, which – might I add – began from a huge misunderstanding in the first place," Scorpius pointed out. "Wouldn't the film then be trying to emphasise the point that we don't control who we fall in love with?"

"Please, that wasn't the point of the _entire_ film–"

"Are you kidding?" Scorpius argued. "The entire plot could have been avoided if Satine had just fallen in love with the Duke instead of Christian! There wouldn't have been a film at all without that point. The idea that 'All you need is love' wouldn't have changed the plot any more dramatically than if the film had taken place in England, rather than France."

"What the hell?" Rose cried. "Then why was there so much emphasis on the line, '_The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love_–'"

"Because it's talking about reciprocal love!" Scorpius cut in.

"I would have _gotten_ to that bit if you'd let me finish the quote," Rose grumbled.

"Whatever. That quote is _only _talking about the idea of falling in love and being in love in return. I.E. we don't control it, but if it happens, it's worth it!"

"Naturally, you're totally missing a HUGE point–"

"Um, OK!" Albus suddenly yelled.

Rose and Scorpius were quickly silenced at that. Rose had become rather accustomed to Albus's interfering yells over the years, and this was no exception. He had been watching them their entire argument and now, was leaning forward again to clap a hand onto Rose and Scorpius's shoulders.

"Now," he said to both of them. "if you are _quite_ finished, I'd like to make sure that you don't scratch each other's eyes out with the DVD in question. Can I trust you to sit sensibly and behave while I get it out of the player? Eve'll kill me if it was broken during a misguided murder attempt."

"Oh, typical!" Scorpius cried as Rose just snorted and Albus stood to retrieve the DVD. "You borrowed it off Eve. Don't tell me, she recommended you watch it, right?"

"Hey! That's my best friend there, don't go judging her taste," Rose scowled.

"My point is more the fact that ALBUS can't seem to make one decision by himself since SHE came along!" Scorpius said, crying out a little bit louder for Albus's sake on certain words.

Rose's cousin just rolled his eyes. "One of these days, Scorpius, you'll fall in love," Albus pointed out from his crouched position by the T.V. "and you won't think it's so stupid then."

"Please. Like I'm ever doing _that _again," Scorpius muttered.

Rose glanced at him. Sometimes, she forgot that she actually knew a hell of a lot about him and his past. She knew that his ex-fiancée, Leah, had really hurt him. She knew (mainly through his bragging) that he'd had several different relationships since then. She would have bet her right arm on the fact that none of them were in any way serious.

Maybe she wasn't the only one who figured that they would be alone for the rest of their life? At least for him, it was by choice.

Albus sighed at Scorpius's comment and didn't go any further. That was one thing Rose could always count on: Albus's dislike for confrontation. If a hard topic was avoidable, he would go through leaps and bounds to do so. Thankfully, he had a knack for knowing when something should just be dropped; it was a talent that Rose was still trying to learn.

"I'm with Scorpius on this one, for a change," Rose found herself saying. Despite her inner romantic arguing with her (shut up, inner romantic!) she folded her arms defiantly, and continued, "What's love ever done for me?"

"Caused a lot of drama?" Scorpius suggested. "Screw love."

"Cheers to that!" Rose agreed, before holding up a hand. Scorpius slapped it without even looking.

Albus just glanced at the two of them, still sitting holed up in their opposite corners of the sofa. "Wowww …" he muttered. "Y'know, one of these days you're going to be on the brink of destruction, and I won't be able to tell if you'll either kill or kiss each other."

The entire night, Rose had been resigning herself to another few months of radio silence. _That _comment effectively decided it for her. By unspoken agreement, she and Scorpius left that night without one more word to each other.

Another wasn't spoken until three months later.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose could convince herself that she was ok with being single … other times, she wished that Albus and Eve had never met. And other moments entirely, she (quite secretly) wished that she'd _always_ be single, so long as Scorpius was … because then they could be single together.

* * *

_April, 2029 _

"What the _hell _are you wearing?"

Scorpius started at the sound of her voice, turning and staring like a deer in the headlights. At first, Rose stared suspiciously back. Why was he looking at her like that? This was how all of their steps back ended! Whoever started it simply approached the other with no warning; it was how it always went. Okaaaay, so _maybe _this was the shortest amount of time they had ever gone not speaking since … um, forever? It _had_ barely been three months after all.

Actually, no wonder Scorpius was staring at her like she'd gone mad. She probably had!

"… what – what are you doing?" he asked, half incredulous, half flustered.

Good lord! It seemed that he was so startled that he'd broken one of their first ever unspoken rules: _never _talk about the fact that they even did this weird back and forth thing. But Rose hadn't been able to help it. Hell, it was her birthday, and Scorpius was wearing a bloody bowtie! Seriously, who wears a _bowtie_?

"Um, staring at the monstrosity around your neck?" Rose insisted then, joking like she always did. She mimed a Muggle cell phone with her hand and called out, "Ring, ring! Scorpius, it's the 19th century calling – they want their bow tie back!"

Scorpius normally would have scoffed at her and made some scathing remark back … and although he did the former, nothing more came out of his mouth. In fact, he was now glancing around his surroundings anxiously, his eyes flickering as if searching for something.

Rose glanced around too, unsure as to what had him so thrown. Actually, what the hell was he even _doing _here? Albus, Eve and Hugo had decided that they were taking her out to dinner for her birthday, and having just arrived, Rose had been so caught up in teasing Scorpius about the bow tie that she hadn't actually stopped to question why he was already in the restaurant that they hadn't told him to come to …

Also, why was he dressed as a waiter?

"Scorpius …" she began, trying not to grin.

"Fine, whatever," Scorpius seemed to give in, rolling his eyes and ducking his knees every now and then, particularly when a person crossed his line of sight. "Ha, ha, Scorpius works in a restaurant now, it's absolutely hilarious! Go on, get it all out, so I might be able to maintain a shred of dignity when Al comes in – he _is _the one you're here with tonight, right?"

"Him, Evie and Hugo, they sent me on ahead to get our table because Hugo forgot his wallet and the others said they'd wait – hang on, no, I'm still trying to process this!" Rose couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, trying to stifle it hastily with a hand. It didn't exactly work. "Oh, my _god_, you're totally serious! You've got the skirt and waist coast and everything!"

"It's an _apron_!"

"What in Merlin's name are you doing working at a restaurant down Diagon Alley?" Rose simply couldn't help it: she burst into hysterical laughter. So the head waiter glared at her – so she risked getting thrown out of the restaurant on her birthday – who CARED? This was probably the best present anyone could have gotten her!

"Oh – oh hell – does – HA! – does Al know?" Rose managed to gasp out between hysterics. "'cause – if this is – his present – oh, _man_–"

"No, Albus does _not _know," Scorpius grumbled. "I was actually kind of counting on the fact that none of you could ever come here again! Didn't you get kicked out last time for setting a table on fire?"

"The candles were fun to play with! Um, I mean," Rose coughed hastily. "Our ban was lifted last month."

"Ah, _shit_."

"Seriously, Scorpius," Rose said then, absolutely loving the look on the poor man's face. "What are you _doing _here?"

"You know, it's perfectly reasonable for a man of twenty three to be working as a waiter!" Scorpius grumbled.

"Not when the man in question is Scorpius Malfoy, heir to what seems to be an entire million-Galleon estate and has a prestigious desk job at the Ministry!"

Scorpius just grunted at that, apparently having enough with the conversation that only resulted in him being ridiculed, since he strode off for the bar at the back of the restaurant. Naturally, Rose followed; knowing her younger brother, they'd be searching for his wallet for an age, so no doubt she had time to kill until they got here. Plus, she wasn't letting him get away _that_ easily.

"Oh, no you don't!" she cried, grabbing Scorpius's arm just before he could disappear behind the bar. In fact, thanks to the momentum, she ended up practically slamming him into it. One of the other waitresses, who was on her way out from behind the bar with a tray of drinks, eyed them apprehensively as she passed. "Scorpius, I'm not going to ask again, and you are _not_ going to give me a stupid non-answer in response as well. It is MY birthday, and I want to know: _why_ are you working as a waiter?"

At that, Scorpius just groaned and leaned his head back, as if to say to the universe _why meeee? _Then, he looked back at her and said, "Shit, it's your birthday?"

"Don't change the subject! Why?"

"For some reason, I thought your birthday was in June–"

"That's Albus, now _why_?"

It seemed that he knew he couldn't get out of it, and finally, he stared at her feet as he muttered grumpily, "I got let go at the Ministry. Not enough donations came in and some positions got re-jiggled. My job was cut. Thankfully, my younger cousin works here, and she managed to get me a job as well. _Happy_?"

"Oh," Rose grinned. "You have NO idea how happy I am! In fact, I think I might just cry!"

"Please refrain yourself, I'll most likely be the one who has to clean it up."

"This just gets better and better!" Rose cried. "Oh, god – thank you, Scorpius!"

"For what?" he rolled his eyes. "For causing myself misery and self-loathing? Yeah, you're welcome."

"No, idiot – this is probably the best birthday present you could've given me, even if it was unintentional!"

Scorpius gave her a typical, _oh_, face at that. Rose was pretty sure that they had never given each other presents the entire twelve years that they'd known each other, except for maybe the odd joke gift here and there. Rose almost felt like hugging him.

Just then, there was a slight breeze that tugged at the hem of her dress, and both her and Scorpius turned to see that Albus, Hugo and Eve had arrived, all three of them looking around and searching for her. She heard Scorpius sigh next to her and she glanced up at him with barely contained glee.

"Time to face the music," she said, cheerfully.

"I had hoped to avoid this," Scorpius muttered. "If I have to wait your table tonight, I think I might just kill myself."

"I'd pay for a front row seat," Rose mentioned, before calling out and waving to her friends. She started forwards, but halted after only a few paces. She hesitated slightly, as her friends noticed her and their eyes turned to confusion when they clearly noticed Scorpius not far behind her. Great. Her insides were gnawing at her. Knowing she was going to regret it, Rose groaned before forcing herself to turn.

"Hey," she said, quickly. "I'm sorry you got fired, ok?"

She stared for a second longer, in which she just caught Scorpius's inclined head in thanks. Before she could hear his 'thank you' – or whatever reply he gave, if any – she had already turned and darted off back towards the others, laughing and pointing out Scorpius behind her.

Sure enough, after that night, they went back to ignoring each other. _After_, since Scorpius had indeed been forced to wait their table. What with the opportunity to give him never ending grief about it the entire night, Rose was pretty sure that her twenty third birthday was the best she'd ever had.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose worried that she liked teasing him a _bit_ too much.

* * *

_June, 2029 _

Rose got a dog.

She didn't know what made her do it! She had sworn to herself that she never would – wouldn't settle for the idea of being perpetually single the rest of her lonely life – but one day, she had walked down Diagon Alley and noticed a young girl on the side of the street, looking over a squirming basket that was labelled, 'Free puppies!'.

"We have a crup at home, bu' tha Muggle dog next door jumped tha fence, you see," the teenaged girl told her, when Rose had stopped to look at them. "Tha's why they're a bi' fluffier, a bi' darker. You want one?"

"Oh – no! No, I'm sorry, I just wouldn't have the time for one …" Rose had told the girl, sitting back on her knees. However, one of the puppies, a little brown-and-white speckled thing, climbed all over its brothers and sisters to jump into her lap. Rose was pretty sure her heart melted when it started licking her hand. "Oh, god, seriously just take it away before I do something stupid!"

"You sure?" the girl had laughed. "Tha's one of our girls, goh no name, bu' she sure seems to like ya!"

The puppy had glanced up at her and put her paws on Rose's chest, licking her face.

… and that was how Rose ended up with a dog.

Having officially owned her for a week now, Rose was still yet to actually tell anyone about her new addition. She hadn't realised how much energy dogs had, and it was still too little to go on walks yet! To compensate, she threw a tiny squeaky toy back and forth across her flat, watching in amusement as the puppy practically threw herself under chairs and tables to get the toy.

The toy was promptly eaten in under an hour, but who was counting?

She had decided to call the puppy Pip, short for Pippa, which had been the teenaged girl's name who had given her the puppy in the first place. Even though Rose knew that this had to be the most spontaneous (stupid) thing she'd ever done, she was absolutely _loving _having Pip in the flat. She seemed to make up all the energy that Rose sometimes felt that she didn't have, and basically fell in love with her on the spot.

See? Who needed men? Dogs are loyal, dedicated, and love sleeping with you! How are they different, really?

Rose blanched at that point. Good god, Merlin only knew what Scorpius would say once he found out that she'd gotten herself a dog.

She happened to be halfway through making breakfast when this particular thought occurred to her. In fact, it was in that moment when it hit her quite suddenly: that she actually _did_ care about what Scorpius Malfoy thought of her! Albus and Eve she knew she worried less about, because while their judgement to her was important, she knew that they wouldn't think any less of her. But Scorpius? Scorpius would mock her endlessly for it! When the hell had _this _happened? She knew that she honestly looked out for his general well-being, that she would defend him and protect him as necessary, despite the fact that they insisted they were barely even friends. She wouldn't go as far as to say that she _loved_ him … but since when did his opinion _matter_ to her?

That thought was enough to scare her.

It kept ringing through her head, even after she eventually told Albus and Eve about Pip. In response, her cousin had exclaimed, "Yay!" excitedly and proceeded to play with her all afternoon, while Eve had just laughed and said she was glad that Rose was happy. But the thought stayed, even when Pip grew old enough for walks in one of London's many dog parks. In fact, the thought was _still_ in her head, when she consistently ran into another wizard in the park, and he asked her out.

"Oh my god … you're actually serious, aren't you?" she'd blurted in surprise, Pip tugging at her lead insistently as she tried to sniff the other dog.

"Um, yeah?" Matthew Wallace had grinned anxiously.

She'd seen him in passing a few times in the park, since they tended to walk their dogs roughly at the same time. When they started talking, it hadn't taken long to notice the subtle signs that the other was inherently magical; the wand stuffed down a boot, the slightly elaborate coat that had clearly been transfigured from a table cloth because of laundry day, or the fact that Pip had no tail, since a crup's forked tail needed severing to keep Muggle's questioning eyes away.

So the interest had grown, and apparently, Matthew worked for the Ministry in Auror Control, which she had been surprised to learn. As the voice of reason behind the field Aurors, telling them where to go and what to do, Rose was surprised that they hadn't run into each other on some stray case, since the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol worked so closely with the Aurors.

"I'm mostly in assaults and battery," Matthew had explained, flicking his curly brown hair out of his eyes. He had a round, good-natured face that Rose was trying very hard not to stare at. "You?"

"Oh! Homicide," Rose had answered.

"Ah," Matthew had grinned. "That'll be why we've never run into each other. I've heard of you, though!"

"Really?"

"A red-head Patrol Officer who works in homicide? Yeah, the blokes talk about you _all_ the time," Matthew had grinned.

"Um, I hope it's nice things?"

"They mostly say that you're crazy," Matthew had told her. "With a little bit of hot thrown in."

"Ah. Well, no need to sugar-coat it!"

"I'm sorry," Matthew had said at once, eyes sparkling. "I tend to be a bit blunt. Can't lie to save my life, even to spare someone's feelings. I take it you've never even heard of me?"

"Not until today!" Rose had said back, and Matthew had laughed.

Rose had found herself liking those times when she would come across Matthew in the park and indeed, made sure that she and Pip went out every day. It was when, halfway down the corridor, she had run back into her flat to put some lippy on, scooping Pip under her arm to get there quicker, when she realised that perhaps, this was getting a _bit_ out of hand.

When didn't it? So when he asked her out, she said yes.

And, well, she hadn't exactly _intended _on sleeping with him on the first date, but … well. It had been a while. So sue her.

She had half expected Matthew to ignore her afterwards – all her other relationships had ended like that, hadn't they? – but for some reason, he _still _owled her! She didn't know what was happening! The bloke she kind of liked, also kind of liked her, and _didn't_ run away, even when she asked embarrassing questions, or when Pip jumped on their heads when they were in bed together. Once she got over the pure terror of being in a new relationship for the first time since she was 19, Rose found that she … well, actually _liked_ it. She liked that feeling of knowing that someone cared about her, liked being with her, was interested in the things she said and did.

Mathew was … _fun_. She liked fun!

"Now, just preparing you," Rose told him before they knocked on the door. "My friends are a bit … insane, for the want of a better term. Trust me, they are going to torture you, screw with your head, and ask you every embarrassing question under the sun! I wouldn't blame you at all if you backed out now."

"Are you kidding?" Mathew grinned at her. He was always grinning. She'd decided that she really liked that about him. "This sounds brilliant!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Rose grinned back before knocking on the door and letting herself in.

Sure enough, Albus's birthday party contained the usual array of suspects – Eve, Scorpius, his fishy flatmate, their various cousins, his mates from work – and the party was in full swing when they arrived. The music was blasting and people were dancing, and Rose _finally_ felt like she was completely and perfectly content with her life. Rose spotted Eve on the other side of the flat, and Matthew was happy to let Rose tug him behind her as she darted through the crowd towards her. Rose hugged her friend enthusiastically in greeting, like they hadn't seen each other for years (even though it had barely been a day). Eve typically went quiet when introduced to Matthew, but in between him insisting that he and Rose dance, and following him to where everyone was moving to the music in the lounge, Eve had giggled and whispered in her ear,

"Where on earth did you find _him_? God, he's cute!"

"Hands off, this one's mine," Rose had joked.

"You look happy, Rosie."

Rose gave Eve another quick hug, kissing her on the cheek for good measure, mainly because she felt like it. "I am."

Then, she took Matthew's hand and joined him and the other dancers. She wound her arms around his neck and he chatted good-naturedly with her as they moved in time to the beat of the pumping song. She wasn't sure if anything could make her feel any greater, but sure enough, there was: over Matthew's tall shoulder, she spotted Scorpius in the kitchen. He was leaning against the fridge, sporting a heavy bottle of Firewhiskey and staring into space, his blond hair unkempt and askew, and not paying any attention to the party at all.

Rose knew through Albus that he'd been having a hard time since losing his job. For once, Rose was the one with a great job and a boyfriend, while _he _was the full-time waiter who drank by himself at parties!

Could life really get any better?

Unfortunately, before she could look away, Scorpius turned and she caught his eye. She couldn't read the expression on his face; it was bright, hurt and horrified, all at the same time. Rose was _supposed_ to still be ignoring him from the whole I'm-sorry-you-got-fired incident, but she couldn't help rubbing it in slightly. She gave him a smirk in return. He scowled and Rose was pretty sure that he was swearing under his breath as he turned away, taking another gulp of his Firewhiskey.

_Ha, ha, sucker! _

* * *

"… so you're in homicide, too?" Matthew was saying eagerly to Eve.

"Yes, though I'm hoping to apply for a management job in a couple of years," Eve answered back. With Matthew's arm slung around her shoulder and Rose's curled around his waist, Eve was free to give Rose a look that quite clearly said, _Merlin, he's cute AND interesting! Where's he been all our lives? _Rose definitely agreed with that. "Love the Patrol, but I'm getting tired of looking at dead bodies every day."

"Will you miss it, you think?"

"Maybe a little," Eve said, talking to the floor. Eve wasn't used to having someone who wasn't Al or Rose pay her so much attention. "I'll certainly miss working with Rose."

"You'd better!" Rose grinned. She pulled away from Matthew then, confident that she could leave him talking with Eve, and she added, "I've been meaning to find Albus all night, since I haven't actually said happy birthday yet. Is it ok if I go try and find him?"

"It's fine, Rosie," Eve told her at once. "Try the kitchen, I think he was talking to Scorpius, last I saw."

_Bloody brilliant_, she thought, but nevertheless, it might be fun to rub it in some more. Matthew leaned down and kissed her softly on top of her head before she left.

"Don't take too long," he told her, eyes bright. "There are a few more songs calling our names!"

_Oh, poor heart, don't excessively beat like that! One of these days, you're going to break! _

Rose's search didn't go very far. Albus's flat wasn't large, and she spotted him almost instantly, leaving the kitchen and calling out to one of his friends. However, before she could reach him, she was intercepted by someone else.

Somebody kill her.

"Wow!" Scorpius said, cutting across her path. "So … what the hell did you slip into his drink to make him want to sleep with _you_?"

"Go to hell, Scorpius," Rose answered, rolling her eyes.

"No, really!" Scorpius let the comment bounce right off him, like he always did. "Because, well, if he's going out with you, there's got to be _something _wrong with him."

"Oh, like there was something wrong with Leah, you mean?" Rose snapped back.

That was a bit harsh, and she knew it, but she wasn't going to take it back. She _wasn't_ going to take Scorpius's ribbing that night … but it didn't stop her from feeling slightly guilty at the look on his face.

"Low blow, Rose Weasley," he said, shaking his head. "_Low blow_."

While Rose longed to just ditch him and find her cousin, there was another comment Rose was dying to ask. However, she couldn't say it without admitting that he was right. She screwed up her nose in annoyance before giving in and saying,

"Ok, fine, that was a bit uncalled for. I _did_ hear that Leah's pregnant, though …"

She was a bit torn as to how she wanted that sentence to end.

(_Is it true?_)

(_Are you ok?_)

"Oh, yes!" Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I guess there's still some life in that fifty-something husband of hers, after all! How did _you_ find out, anyway?"

"Grapevine. Aurors are terrible gossips."

"Well, luckily, she doesn't matter anymore," Scorpius shrugged, and Rose was finding it hard to tell how he was feeling. Normally, Scorpius was an open book. However tonight, he seemed to be anywhere between openly hostile, to just _crushed_. And she believed him when he said that Leah didn't matter anymore. The woman hadn't had enough brain cells to make that much of an impression on Rose, anyway. So …

"So why d'you look like a corpse, then?" she found herself asking, despite herself.

"Oh, I don't know," Scorpius said, scathingly. "I mean, what with my dead-end job, the pending eviction notice and recent ex-girlfriend who set my sofa on fire, my life is totally _rocking it_, isn't it?"

"Your ex set your sofa on _fire_?"

"She was a Muggle, and a total _psycho_. Expect her to be on the next list of 'Criminals Most Wanted'."

"I think I want to take this girl out to dinner," Rose sniggered.

"If it helps, when I was calling the police, I totally thought of you."

"Cute," Rose muttered. "You can't say she didn't have high goals! Not that there was anywhere else to go but up, after you."

Something _hard_ glinted in Scorpius's eyes then, like she'd finally gone one step too far and pushed some internal button. She didn't often hit it – she normally never let it get to this point – but tonight, it seemed that he'd had enough. Maybe that was fair, but she was way over it as well, and though she might deserve a little retaliation for rubbing it in, she _certainly_ didn't deserve to be _kicked down_ like she normally was by him. She was only returning the favour, right?

Yes, maybe things would get ugly. She sort of didn't care.

"I heard you got a dog!" Scorpius burst out, roughly.

"I didn't realise you knew – _so what_?" Rose snapped back.

"Well … really? _A dog_?" Scorpius snorted.

"Yes," Rose said. "What of it? She's adorable, will attack your arse if I let her, and she's actually the reason I met Matthew."

"Huh!" Scorpius said. "I figured you must have drugged the poor bloke, considering that he practically worships the ground you walk on."

"It's not _that_ unbelievable that a bloke could like me!"

"Could've fooled me!" Scorpius commented.

"Oh, I'm sorry, isn't there _another_ girl somewhere you should be proposing to?!"

She'd really crossed the line, and she knew it. Scorpius's glare was dark, like a storm was brewing behind those grey eyes and already, Rose was regretting her question. Leah was over and done with, and she shouldn't keep throwing his mistakes back in his face. However, she couldn't really apologise _now_, could she? She got the feeling that Scorpius wouldn't hear her out anyway, even if she tried.

"Y'know what, Rose?" he glared. "_Screw you_. I hope you enjoy your boyfriend while it lasts, because it's clear that it won't. Why would it? No one's _ever _stayed with you for more than just sex, have they?"

And he turned and stormed off.

She felt her eyes sting at his words. She wanted to _kill_ him.

What he said wasn't true.

… was it?

* * *

Sometimes, yes, his opinion mattered. And she _hated_ that.

* * *

A/N: Pip is based off a real dog that I know, and yes, the musical that Al, Scorpius and Rose were watching was _Moulin Rouge_, my personal second favourite musical (my first being _Rent_). Everyone's lashing out in this one! Don't worry, my stories always have a happy ending.

There is one more part after this. I initially envisioned this as a oneshot, but yeeeeah, too many words. Thank you SO MUCH for the response on this story! You have all been very supportive. Again, sorry for the insane length.

(Next chapter of WJML, for those who care, I swear is coming soon).

Please review and let me know what you think. :)

Until next time -

- Moon. :D


	3. Part Three

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Rose, Scorpius, mutual friends, arguments, dogs or strange relationships. I also don't own the 'sometimes' theme, the credit for that idea is all Eienvine's.

* * *

Sometimes.

Sometimes, Rose wondered how much longer they could do this back and forth thing until one of them explosively snapped. :Rose/Scorpius NextGen:

* * *

PART THREE

Sometimes, things go wrong, and it can't be helped. Because sometimes, shit just happens. But this was _not_ one of those times, and Rose knew it (_was all her fault_).

* * *

_August, 2029 _

"Rose, this _has _to stop!" Mathew yelled at her.

She didn't know what was wrong with her, but of course, their failing relationship was all her fault. She forced her tears down and stared at Mathew stoically as he rubbed his eyes warily, the two of them having been yelling at each other the last ten minutes, standing in her kitchen.

_Of course_, every time it seemed he wanted space, she would push for affection. He didn't want to stay over that night, so _naturally_, that meant something was wrong. When she started believing those words (_his words_) that were snapped so bitterly at her, she would pull away, right when Matthew wanted to be close. It was like they were no longer in synch. Even their dogs started hating each other, growling and nipping whenever one of them got too close.

When he got frustrated and wanted her to open up about why she was acting this way, _of course_ Rose would shut down and refuse to say anything.

"Look …" Mathew looked genuinely upset and was it ironic that in the moments before their relationship surely ended, Rose was certain that he had always cared for her? He sat down at her kitchen table and slowly, Rose joined him, sinking into the chair next to him. She didn't look up, just stared at the table top, taking comfort in Pip batting her soft head against her legs below the table. Matthew sniffed, and finally found something to say.

"Rose, I love you, but I just can't keep doing this …" She didn't argue. He was probably right. "You won't tell me what's wrong, and I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"I …" She swallowed, though she'd drunk nothing, and still felt like something was stuck in her throat. "N-nothing's wrong …" she tried, but honestly, who was she kidding? Mathew seemed to agree with her as he snorted.

"Yeah," he said, voice slightly bitter now. "Of course."

They were silent for another few moments. Rose resisted picking Pip up and hugging her to her chest. She didn't want to look as much as a commitment-phobe as Matthew seemed to think she was.

"Look, I won't draw this out," he said, quietly. "I'll take anything of mine here right now and you'll get anything of yours by the end of the week. I'm sorry, Rose, but I just …" He shook his head. "Maybe if you sort whatever it is … I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm just … really sorry."

He left, and Rose didn't try and stop him. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure if she was going to do anything ever again. She stayed sunk down into her chair at the tiny kitchen table and let Mathew pack without a word. He paused before he left, and apparently decided against any physical contact in goodbye. Really, what could he do that wouldn't make this worse?

It took the entire evening for Rose to wrap her head around all that had happened. Then, in good old 'I just got dumped' mode, she cracked out the ice cream and proceeded to wallow for the entire next two weeks. What could she say? Rose Weasley never did anything by halves! In fact, it took two weeks of low-fat chocolate, cuddling Pip, and crying as she sang along to depressing songs, for her to realise that something had led to this. Something had wedged its way in and had a hand in this. Rose wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't place the entire blame elsewhere, but she also knew when _not_ to dump this all on her own head.

_This_ was one of those times. Because it finally hit her what had helped turn this into a disaster, and when his face and his words came slamming back into her brain, it happened:

She. Got. _Angry_.

* * *

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" she yelled the moment he answered his front door.

"What–?"

"Seriously, what RIGHT did you have in telling me that?!" she shrieked, shoving Scorpius in the chest and making him stumble backwards. For someone she couldn't stand, Rose certainly had been in his flat far too many times; it was sad enough that she knew where it was, and where he hid his spare key in case he forgot his wand, to begin with. It was perpetually messy, and she knew he shared it with three other tenants. Luckily, it seemed that they were all out for this particular debacle. If there was going to be a murder, she _really_ didn't need any other witnesses for this.

"What on earth are you going on about–?"

"YOU! You, and your stupid comments! _No one's _ever_ stayed with you for more than just sex, have they_?" She repeated the statement and Scorpius's eyes widened. "You just don't get it, do you? How much that one sentence _hurt_? My relationship _ended_ because YOU felt the need to remind me of my flaws and not only that, _throw them in my face_! How the hell DARE You?" And she shoved him again, because she felt like it and though it didn't make her feel any better, she was tempted to keep doing it until it did.

It was no wonder Scorpius was bewildered at first. Since he'd stormed off at Albus's birthday, Rose had assumed that they were once again pulling back several steps, and she hadn't spoken to him since. But she realised just then, that they seemed to have been having difficulty in staying away, as of late. She still hadn't gotten over the night they had watched a film together with Albus, when she was suddenly telling him she was sorry he got fired. Not even recovered from _that_, she was rubbing her wonderful life in his face at Albus's party.

Ok, so she _probably_ deserved what he told her.

(She figured it was best to stay away from that thought, at this point).

What did it say that they couldn't seem to stay away from each other anymore? Rose hated that she was being forced to think of it. Thankfully, Scorpius seemed to be getting over his bewilderment at her having just stormed on up, and he was starting to get a scowl on his face as he stared her down. They were still standing together in his small hallway.

"Hey!" he said. "It's not MY fault that you went round the bloody twist and made your relationship collapse!"

"Yes! Some of it is!" Rose yelled back. "Because, yeah, I might be nuts, but I know that! I'm already shit scared of commitment as it is, and then I find Mathew, and he's _brilliant_, and he's everything I could ever need, and then you just _have _to go and remind me of the fact that I've never been loved before! That no one has ever just taken me for who I am and _loved me_, despite all of the shit that makes me Rose! And Matthew broke up with me because I was ashamed to talk about it!" Rose had to stop then, breathing hard. She looked away, at a ridiculously ugly painting on the wall, focusing instead on the clash of colours. It helped keep the tears at bay. "Scorpius, I was _ashamed_ to say that I thought so less of myself, that your words made me want to hold on ridiculously tight to the point of suffocation! In the end, we were _drowning_ in our relationship, and it was basically all my fault. Well, I'm telling you now, there was NO NEED FOR IT!"

It felt dizzyingly good to scream about it. Rose had always known she wasn't normal and most of the time, she was ok with that. She was irrational, and emotional, and had her fangirl moments over the stupidest things, and yes, most people thought she was nuts because of that, but she was honestly fine with it!

Not now. Not since Scorpius Malfoy.

"No _need_?" Scorpius scowled. "Rose, there was EVERY effing need! You don't even care what I've been through lately, do you? I've lost basically everything in my life and that night, when all I needed was for you to say it was ok, you flaunt your perfect life my face and rub salt in the wound! Who the hell _does_ that?!"

"What–? Scorpius, WE do that!" Rose screamed back.

But neither of them said anything else and Rose figured it was because they were both coming to the same realisation: that they were both just as bad as each other. That lashing out seemed like the only option, because they didn't know how to handle somewhat positive feelings towards each other. Yes, she was angry at what he'd said, but she'd been a bitch, too, and now she wasn't entirely sure what happened next. Feeling incredibly guilty, she stared at his shoes for a moment, before hesitantly glancing up at him.

Scorpius' face clearly said he was ashamed of himself, refusing to meet her eye and instead staring at the wall. Quite suddenly, Rose wasn't sure if she was ready to hear an apology. Besides, the two of them didn't really _do _spoken apologies. To them, an equivalent of 'I'm sorry' was suddenly teasing each other again after months of radio silence. They never gave any warning about when their steps backwards were over; they just approached the other like nothing had happened and without saying anything, the other instantly knew things were back to normal now.

She wasn't ready to recover from this. She wasn't sure she could. She needed time, she needed a step back. But in order to justify a step back, she first needed to step forward.

So she opened up her heart and let herself ramble.

"Sometimes, I really hate you," she said.

"Not surprising. Care to explain why?"

"_Why_? Oh, I don't know, maybe because you never even _think_ before you speak?" Rose said, exasperatedly.

It appeared that Scorpius had had enough, because instead of taking her bait, he spat out, angrily, "Rose, I was all prepared to apologise, and I KNOW you were, too, so quit with the _bullshit_! If you hate me so much, why are you even _here_?"

"Because!" Rose cried. "So I can scream and yell, and let it all out, because SOMEONE needs to hear it, and let's face it, that person's always been you! I guess it's just a coincidence that this time, the thing I need consoling on, IS you! Don't you care? Don't you even care at _all_?"

"You can't say that!" Scorpius cut in, taking a step forward. "For god's sake, you KNOW I care about you!"

"Then _why_, Scorpius, why would you say that to me?" she cried. "You knew exactly what it would do to me! You knew that it would tear us apart, but you still said it anyway! People who care don't _do_ that sort of thing to one another! And don't try and give me some crap about thinking I could take it, because your opinion MATTERS to me, and you _know _that. You knew I'd listen. You knew, and you still did it. WHY?"

"Because you hurt _me_!" Scorpius yelled. "You paraded around with your new boyfriend, and your smirks and laughter, and you knew exactly what you were doing. God, did you have any idea how _hard_ it was seeing you like that, with him?!"

"_What_?" Rose said, because she hadn't been expecting that. She'd expected being called out on what she'd said about Leah, and flaunting her perfect life – that much she was suddenly hating herself for, and deserved to be shot down for – but so what if she'd attended the party with Matthew? "What the hell're you talking about–?"

"Don't even try it on me, Rose, you know EXACTLY what I'm–!"

"Look at me!" she cried, pushing back her hair in agitation. "Scorpius, I really don't!"

Scorpius looked like he wanted to give a frustrated yell. However, he clamped his mouth shut. Then, after several moments of this:

"Rose, you really need to leave," he said, a dangerous quiver in his voice. He was trying to stay calm, _really_ calm. It wasn't working.

He had moved towards the door, grabbing her upper arm as he passed, but she wrenched it out of his grip almost instantly. "What? No!" she cried, shoving him away from her. "I'm not leaving! I don't feel any better yet!"

"What, so that's all I am to you?" Scorpius said, abandoning the door and turning to glare. "A quick fix?"

"Well, you've never indicated in the past that we're ever anything else!" Rose found herself yelling. "Hell, Scorpius there were times when I even thought that we were _friends_, that we looked out for each other, that we didn't come to each other like this just because Albus forced us to all those years ago on our first day at Hogwarts! I thought that we came together because we wanted to, because we trust each other, because we could count on each other, but I guess I was _wrong_! I guess you never felt the same way I did, I guess you _never_ loved me! Well, it's too late now, it's _too late_–"

She was cut off by Scorpius Malfoy lunging forward and kissing her.

It wasn't soft or beautiful; it was angry, and she felt several hairs get pulled as he wound his fingers into her curls. He pushed her, and they slammed into the hallway wall. Logically, Rose knew that this wasn't going to end well, that she should stop, should pull away, so many _shoulds_ that she just didn't want to process at this point. So she kissed him back, her arms going around his waist instead. She clutched at his shirt, and his lips made her feel like her heart was on fire. One of his hands slid down from her hair slowly, in contrast to his furious kisses; that's what they had always been, wasn't it? Contrasting. Never the same, but still always needing each other, always together. His hand skimmed her side, and she shivered when she felt his fingertips on the bare skin of her thigh. Never more thankful for the summer months and whoever invented short shorts, she suddenly moved, hitching her leg up over his hip.

Why was this happening? Since when had she _wanted _it to happen? … oh, who was she kidding? She'd wanted this for years. He let out some sort of noise – she might have called it a moan, if it hadn't sounded so guttural. He left her lips to kiss a trail to her neck, and Rose found herself needing more, needing his skin, needing him on her, _in_ her –

She pushed her hands underneath his shirt, tracing her fingers over the bumps and curves of his spine. He didn't exactly protest when she pushed him away to pull the shirt over his head.

In fact, neither of them protested _at all_ when things quite spectacularly escalated from there.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose wondered how much longer they could do this back and forth thing until one of them explosively snapped.

* * *

_September, 2029 _

"Rose, you _have _to come," Albus had been needling her the entire past week and now, her cousin had even gone so far as to ambush her at work where she couldn't run away. Rose sighed, pushing her chair away from her desk to stare her cousin down. "I'm serious," Albus continued. "this is our _engagement party_, you're going to be Maid of Honour, you HAVE TO COME!"

"Will he be there?" Rose asked again.

Albus gave an exasperated groan, rubbing his face warily. "Rose–"

"I won't ask again," she pointed out.

"Fine, yes, he'll be there!" Albus told her and Rose snorted, decision made. She pulled her chair back in to her desk. "Just like he always is! But Rose, it's been a month, you can't avoid him forever–"

"You think so?" Rose almost laughed. "Al, what's the longest we've ever gone without speaking?"

"I don't know, Rosie," Albus said, sounding resigned. He knew she wasn't coming. She could hear it in his tone. "Half a year, maybe?"

"I intend to completely break that record this time."

"You'll have to see him sooner or later," Albus pointed out. "He's my Best Man, after all."

"If I can put it off until the actual wedding, then I will!"

"Look," Albus sighed, moving and sitting down on the edge of her desk next to her. He placed a hand right on top of her paperwork, making her look up into his face. "I _really_ don't want to know what happened between you and Scorpius, though I can make a fairly good guess. I just don't want to watch you bury yourself in work again. I love you, remember?"

"I'm fine!" Rose told him, giving him a smile. She reached out and placed a hand on top of his, despite herself. "I've got you, Evie, Pip, I'm even working at getting along better with Mum! I'm not drowning, I promise."

"You're not coming to our engagement party, are you?"

"No, Al. I'm sorry."

Albus just sighed, before leaning down and kissing her on top of her head.

"I hope you know what you're doing. I'll see you later."

* * *

Sometimes, Rose wondered if her life would have turned out better if she got her cousin to run it for her.

* * *

_April, 2030 _

"Bloody hell, Mum!" Rose cried, stumbling into the café just ahead of her mother. "You simply _had _to pick the one day it decides to pour it down!"

Hermione Weasley just gave Rose a laugh; that light, quiet laugh that Rose had heard all her life. Just over a year ago, Rose had always assumed that laugh meant, 'Oh, darling, I know so much better than you, so you had better just keep trying, even though you'll fail'. Now … well, she was sort of starting to see how it more meant, 'Oh, darling, I'm your mother and mother's know best. You'll get it eventually. Now bring me a cup of tea'.

It was strange having a relationship with her mother. But then, Rose had always been a bit strange.

"I have not spoken to my daughter since the new year!" Hermione said, leading Rose to the back of the long line that eventually led to the front counter of the café. "I was willing to brave a bit of rain for a catch up."

Rose snorted, before asking, "How's Dad?"

Hermione smiled. "Just wrapped up a rather large case at work. Claimed if it weren't for him and his _innate sense of scent and tracking_, the killer never would have been caught."

"Innate sense?" Rose scoffed. "If he's talking about the Hannigan case, I was up all night diving through files, trying to tear apart alibi's! If _anyone_ should be praised with catching the killer, it's the hard working Law Enforcement Officers like me!"

"Have you ever thought of applying for Investigator?"

"_Mum_," Rose was quick to sigh.

"No! No!" Hermione wound her arm around her daughter's shoulders, pulling her to her side tightly. The line moved slowly forward. "I'm not trying to push you, or force you! I'm only curious–"

"Mum, you're _always _only curious," Rose rolled her eyes.

"Rosie," Hermione had to look up to meet her daughter's gaze; something about having a giant for a father had blessed Rose with the 'tall' gene. Rose had always revelled in that fact, thinking that it was at least one thing she was good at – being tall. But now, she was starting to realise that her mother really did only want what was best for her. "I don't mean to push all the time. Well – er, I mean, I do – but I don't mean it like you – I mean – _blimey_," she exclaimed then, sounding a lot like her dad in that moment. "I don't _expect_ you to apply. I was just wondering if you would."

"I know, I get you," Rose said, wrapping her arm around Hermione's waist in return. They were nearly at the front counter now. "and … well, yes, I actually was kind of considering it. I've been doing this for years now, and I think I'm more than capable of being an Investigator."

"Of course you are, Rose."

"But …"

"Oh, no 'but's!" Hermione insisted. "Rose, you are bright, dedicated, and _completely _capable. You could lead an investigation with no problem."

"But what if I can't?" Rose admitted. With so many other worries – namely a) helping to plan her best friend's wedding and b) avoiding a certain person every waking hour of the day – she hadn't had a lot of time to mull this over herself. This was basically the first time she was ever really acknowledging it out loud. "I've not been able to handle it in the past, and that can't happen if I'm at the head of the investigation!"

"Rosie, you only learn from your mistakes," Hermione said, calmly. "You have learnt well, haven't you?"

"Well …"

"See?" Hermione smiled. "You'll be promoted to Investigator in no time – two coffees, thanks," she added to the girl behind the front counter. "I'm a flat white – Rosie?"

"Um – same for me, thanks."

When their orders were delivered, Rose and Hermione made their way to one of the few tables still left available. The torrential rain outside was driving people into the shop, and they were lucky to grab a two-person table by the window. They drank in silence for a few moments, and Rose had to admit that she was actually rather enjoying this. She made the effort to hang out with her mum on a regular basis now, and she'd found that over the past year and a bit, they were really starting to understand each other.

Everything was going great!

But, of course, that was when Hermione decided to talk _social lives_.

"How's Albus?" she asked then, brightly. "Do you both still hang out with Scorpius Malfoy?"

Rose stiffened. Somehow – and she didn't know how she did it most of the time – Rose had managed to always steer the topic of Scorpius away from her mother. There was absolutely _no way_ she was going there! Unfortunately, Hermione Weasley interviewed and tore down Muggle attackers for a living, and if there was anyone who could _prise_ information out of you, it was her. She knew she had to handle this carefully, or she'd end up spilling the entire story.

"Oh, he's fine," Rose said, as calmly as possible, even when she could feel her fingers clenching on her coffee cup. "We've both been really busy, what with him planning his wedding and all that, so we haven't really had a lot of time to hang out, recently."

"And what about Scorpius?"

She really was diabolical!

"I – uh – don't really talk to him," Rose said, awkwardly. She winced at the look on Hermione's face; she'd blown it, somehow. She didn't know how, but _Hermione knew_!

She _really_ needed to figure out how her mother did that.

"What happened?" Hermione said at once.

"Nothing!"

"Uh, huh," she nodded. "That is the exact same tone your father uses when he's accidentally destroyed one of my bras in the washing machine. Now are you going to tell me, or do I have to start guessing?"

"Look, I don't–"

"Did you get off?"

"_Mum_!"

"What?" Hermione asked, innocently. When Rose couldn't really find it in her to outright lie to her mother's face, she ending up stammering and gaping. This was clearly more than enough confirmation for Hermione. "Aha! I knew it! You slept with him, didn't you? Oh, please tell me that you were safe–?"

"MUM–!"

"Rose Weasley, I am your mother, and I care about you," Hermione cut in as Rose's face probably exploded from the sheer redness.

"God, could you be even _more_ embarrassing?"

"Oh, yes!" Hermione said, cheerfully. "I could ask if you made sure to clean your–"

"OH MY GOD, shut up, anyone could hear you!"

"–because that's a health hazard, you know," Hermione continued. "I hope you used the bathroom afterwards."

"Shit, shit, just let me die …" Rose groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

She was doing so well! Not only had she managed to avoid Scorpius Bloody Malfoy, but she was getting so much better at pretending that that night had never even happened. That she didn't fall onto the sofa with him in a daze. That, after hot kisses and torn clothes, they didn't somehow eventually make it to his bed. That he hadn't soon fallen asleep and she'd simply laid there, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the hell she'd done. That she _hadn't_ panicked, and dressed so quickly that she put her shirt on backwards, before running the hell out of there …

"So did you?" Hermione asked.

"Look, if I say yes, will you _stop talking_?" Rose asked, warily. "_Please_?"

"I'm just looking out for you! You know I always thought you two would be good together," Hermione mused.

"Are you hearing yourself? _Scorpius Malfoy_, Mum! Also known as Ultimate Dickhead and a Bastard in his Spare Time?"

"Darling, you're 24 now," Hermione pointed out. "I think we're both a little past vendettas that go back to our Hogwarts days."

"But …" Rose tried to come up with something – anything – that would convince her mother that her thinking should never _ever _go down this road again. She didn't think she could get any redder, but it seemed that Hermione had talent! "… I hate him!"

"I see," She didn't like her mother's face; it was a slight smirk, like the one Rose was used to seeing on _his _face. Something she didn't want to hear _always_ followed that look. "Let me just ask you one question, Rosie, and I promise you that I will drop it."

"Fine, whatever."

She gave her a significant look. "Do you miss him?"

* * *

Sometimes … ok, yeah, she missed him. But that didn't mean anything.

* * *

_August, 2030 _

A year.

She had managed an entire year without seeing him ye, somehow, when the day came, she found that she was still not prepared for it.

"Rosie, I swear, it'll be ok!" Eve tried to reassure her. Even though the woman was getting married in two days, Rose found that Eve was _still_ the calm one. "I mean … it's been twelve months. It can't still be … you know … _awkward_, right?"

"Honestly, Evie, I have no idea what's going to happen," Rose admitted.

Rose could still remember the day when Eve had run screaming into Rose's flat at two o'clock in the morning to yell that she was engaged. Subconsciously, she had known that Albus and Eve's wedding would ultimately end up with her at this point, but she had refused to focus on it. All she wanted was to be happy for the friend who'd become almost a sister to her, and accept the Maid of Honour role instantly. She'd had an inkling as to who the Best Man might be before Albus had even mentioned it, but Rose just put it out of her mind. She was focusing on work and looking after Pip. Eve's mum and much older sister, Jasmine, were happy to do all of the planning, so she hadn't been forced to be in the same room as him even once!

Unfortunately, the wedding was at a beautiful manor house often hired out for weddings and fancy parties in the countryside, and for the first time in a year, Rose was going to have to face the man she had screamed at, slept with, and ran out on almost immediately afterwards.

While at first she'd denied that any of it had even happened, she soon gave up. Try as she might, she couldn't get him out of her head! And it would hit her at the most inopportune moments, like when she was trying to concentrate, or study for the exam that would decide whether or not she would be promoted to Investigator. She would remember the way he had cried out her name in a strangled voice, or the way her heart had exploded when they'd managed to get rid of the rest of their clothes and she'd been able to touch all that skin, or the way they had simply fit together, moving in ways that made her feel things she hadn't known _existed_ …

She found it _really_ unfortunate that she had to go and fall in love with the bastard at a time like this.

"Rosie … can I ask you something?" Eve asked her, then. The two of them were relaxing on the balcony off one of the million bedrooms this manor offered, sipping expensive wine and drinking in the end-of-summer sun.

Rose was pretty sure that Eve already knew all the gory details, because, well. Pip was a good listener, but her advice was always just a lick on the nose. And what else could make this more embarrassing at this point? So she answered,

"Sure."

"Well … why _do_ you do this forwards and backwards thing with Scorpius?" she asked. "Ever since I've known you, you pretend that you don't care, but sometimes you will have a moment when it becomes obvious … then, you just suddenly pull back. Can I ask … why do you do it?"

Of all the things she and Eve had gossiped about … no one had ever asked her that before. If any past boyfriends had picked up on it, they'd never mentioned it. Albus just carried on pretending that it was normal and had never questioned it. But Eve … of course she had to be the one.

And maybe it was about time she answered.

"Because I wasn't supposed to like him," she said. "and when it became clear that I did, I would panic. I think he did, too. So I would run, and he would run, and now things are a bloody _nightmare_."

"You're in love with him," Eve said, softly. "Aren't you?"

Rose smiled, weakly.

"Well, god, isn't this just bloody depressing?" she managed to laugh. "C'mon! We're supposed to be helping your mum set up the venue outside, not gossiping like mad drunk women!"

Eve let her get away with it like only Eve could. Because Rose's best friend already knew the truth.

* * *

Sometimes, Rose wished she wasn't so damn transparent.

* * *

_August, 2030 _

In the end, it wasn't seeing him again for the first time in over a year that made her snap.

No, it was the ridiculous piece of blond that he'd brought with him as a date.

"Honestly, she's got to be, what? Nineteen? Twenty at the _most_," Rose insisted to an entirely exasperated Albus.

"Rosie, I love you with _all_ my heart," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "but I got married today, and instead of dancing with my new wife at my wedding reception, I'm watching you get drunk and bitch about Scorpius! Can you tell me what is wrong with this picture?"

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry," she said at once, and she did hastily set her glass of champagne down onto one of the roaming waiter-less trays. "Go! Be with Eve, I'm just being stupid–"

"No, Rosie, you're being my beautiful and amazing cousin," Albus told her, despite his exasperation. She accepted his warm hug as he added, "Look, I won't even _pretend_ to understand this screwed-up relationship you two have got going on, but …" he pulled back to look at her, carefully. "I think that he needs you, ok? He's had an extremely rough year. And I love you, no matter what."

"I … thanks, Al," Rose said, honestly grateful for his words.

Rose wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to react to seeing Scorpius again. She supposed that she should be hiding; wasn't that what you did with one night stands? Hiding would have been easy, since the reception took place inside the manor's _ginormous_ ball room. It was fairly simple to blend in with the crowd. Now that food and all the speeches were over, Rose was free to roam the dancing and celebrating crowd, keeping a wary eye out as she did so.

But Scorpius was still yet to really approach her. They had exchanged delightfully strained greetings when he'd first arrived at the manor, simply to please those standing around and watching (namely, Albus and Eve) but apart from one extremely awkward walk down the aisle, they had completely, one hundred per cent avoided each other.

She didn't know how to break the stalemate and, indeed, if she was even ready to. Their reconciliations in the past suddenly seemed far too easy. She instead pretended that she _wasn't_ watching him and hadn't been watching him for over half of the reception. She had avoided his gaze during her speech and knew that they would both defiantly turn down the traditional Best Man and Maid of Honour dance. Now, she watched him dance with the leggy blond who seemed poised and sophisticated and far better than Rose in every way possible.

She still couldn't help but scoff.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore; she needed to look away, before she drove herself completely mad. Instead, she drew her eyes to where Albus and Eve were dancing together. She found herself smiling. She almost prided herself in being the main reason they had met, those two years ago, despite the circumstances under which it had happened. Even though neither the bride nor groom could dance to save their lives, they had wrapped their arms around each other anyway and swayed together, eyes on nothing but each other.

It wasn't horrible of her to be kind of jealous, was it? That was the kind of love she wanted. She wanted to live knowing that there someone in the world who would always be there for her, always take care of her. Someone who would make her let her guard down and still always make her feel safe and just _wanted_ …

She suddenly realised that she'd already had that person.

How many times had Scorpius been there for her in the past? Countless. And she'd been there for him, too. Without realising it, they'd grown closer than any normal friends could have over the years. Now that she really thought about it, Scorpius probably knew the most about her than anyone else in her life, even including Albus and Eve. Only Scorpius knew the way she leaned into his side whenever she was drunk. Only she knew that he tapped his fingertips against his thigh when he was stressed or nervous. Only Scorpius knew how she'd felt the time she'd been forced to investigate the murder of a small child. Only she knew the way her name sounded, gasped from his lips, as she bit down on his jaw and they moved together …

She shook her head. C'mon, Rose, now was _not _the time!

In the end, it was watching his blond date quite obviously flirt with someone else that made her lose it. Rose almost made to stride over there and _slap_ the girl for being so callous, but she refrained herself at the last second. She didn't want Albus throwing her from the house for attacking their guests. Instead, found herself striding over to Scorpius on the opposite side of ballroom, despite all of her better judgement telling her not to.

"Do you just have no STANDARDS anymore?" she said.

Scorpius spun suddenly to face her and for the first time in a year, their eyes properly met. While Rose felt like she was probably going bright red, Scorpius was completely pale. Apart from their awkward trip down the aisle, with her arm loosely wrapped around his elbow, she hadn't been this physically close to him since that night. He looked … tired. Gorgeous, but tired, like he'd gone three straight days with no sleep. She didn't think it was a sleepy tired, though, and she understood. She knew what it felt like to simply be _exhausted_ and no chance to just put life on hold and _stop _for a moment.

Albus said he'd had a rough year. She guessed he wasn't kidding.

She was expecting the inevitable, "Rose," to come from his mouth, but this time, it didn't. He simply gaped at her.

So, she continued.

"I mean, seriously, your date is _actually_ chatting up my cousin!" she said, exasperatedly. "And she's talking to Fred, so I mean it when I say that she'll have his tongue down his throat in thirty seconds! I thought you had some _pride_, but you don't even care about that woman, do you? Why would you–"

"She's my cousin," he suddenly blurted out.

Oh.

She hadn't been expecting _that_.

"She's your _what now_?" she said, stunned.

"Her name is Harriet Greengrass, and she is my younger cousin," Scorpius said, refusing to look at her. He seemed almost _guilty_. "We work together, at the restaurant, I don't know if you …" He trailed off, and Rose guessed he wondered if she remembered him mentioning that. She did. "I, uh … thought she might like to come … I mean … well, you …"

Rose couldn't believe it.

"You brought your own cousin to your best friend's wedding because you were afraid I might have brought someone, too?" she asked in amazement.

"Is it far too pathetic of me to say yes?" he asked, giving Rose an extremely weak-willed smile.

It still shot right down to her toes.

"Oh, yes," she said, trying her best to return the smile. _C'mon, Rose, you can do this! _"I'm afraid that there's no hope for you. I mean, really, who's going to want you now?"

There was a pause, and apparently, Scorpius couldn't take the tentative joking one more second.

"Oh, to hell with it," he suddenly said. "Rose, I can't DO this anymore, ok? The back and forth thing, the pulling away and coming back with no warning. It's doing my head in and all I want is a normal relationship! Is that really too much to ask?"

Rose stared for a long moment, her stomach quite possibly falling out of her body entirely.

"You …" She swallowed, her throat sticking. "I … of course. I mean, I understand." It hit her that this was the first time they had ever explicitly mentioned it out loud. Was this really how it was all going to end? With him leaving her forever, for a normal relationship, and a house with a white-picket fence next door to Albus and Eve? It couldn't be.

Not after everything that had happened.

Scorpius made a movement then, but whether to move back or forwards, Rose didn't wait to tell. She was done with moving backwards. She didn't let him get any further than raising his leg, since _she _stepped forward, and quickly burst out,

"Scorpius, I'm going to sound incredibly pathetic here, but I don't care anymore! I'm in love with you!"

Scorpius stopped, staring at her. She wasn't sure where this burst of bravery was coming from – finally, her Gryffindor was coming out! – but she found herself carrying on, regardless. Yes, this might all come back and hit her in the face, but backwards was just not an option anymore.

She let out a deep breath at her outburst. "Ohhh, god. Ok? I said it, and I won't un-say it. In fact, I'll say it again, _I love you_! And dear god, don't leave me for a white-picket fence in the countryside! I'm honestly working on toning down the crazy and stuff, but Scorpius, I never realised how much I _needed_ you in my life until suddenly you weren't in it anymore! I _know_ that I've screwed up more than once, but I love you, and I–!"

And they were suddenly kissing, and Rose didn't even know who started it. She didn't exactly know what was happening, but hell, she wasn't complaining. She clutched at the collar of his dress robes and held on, wishing that this moment could never end. Unfortunately, he slowly drew away from her.

"Rose," His voice was a breath, barely a whisper. The only reason she heard it was because he was still so close, resting his forehead against hers. She remembered vaguely that they were standing together in a crowded ballroom surrounded by friends and family, but she didn't care. Not at all.

"You are _insane_," he told her, then. "but I love that. No matter what I said, you always took my teasing without a thought, because we're just so in synch together. You understood me, insulted me back because, let's face it, I was an arrogant bastard and I needed it–"

"_Was_?" Rose cut in, trying to crack a joke. Scorpius laughed.

"I love that despite the fact that we argued, it was plain as day how much we actually cared," he simply continued, hands pressed against her cheeks, still holding her close. "God, I haven't been able to get you out of my head since that night you walked out on me. You have no idea how much I wished I'd run out after you and stopped you."

"Scorpius, I am _so _sorry–"

But he was shaking his head. "I think we're both sorry, Rose. We've both said and done things we shouldn't have. But I'm willing to get past it, if you are?"

Rose couldn't think of an answer worthy enough to say, so she simply kissed him again, wishing that she'd gotten over herself much earlier than this. It continued for some amount of time that Rose couldn't measure – it might have been for two songs, or it could've been hours – but eventually, Scorpius pulled away again so he could speak,

"You know I'm still just a waiter, right? Oh, and I live with my cousin now, I couldn't afford the rent at my old flat–"

"Scorpius!" Rose cut in, almost wanting to laugh. "You know I don't actually care what job you have, right?"

"Oh. Right," Scorpius frowned and she smiled in return, meeting his gaze with her hands still curled into the collar of his robes. "I'm sorry, I'm just so used to you giving me shit for that kind of thing–"

"–oh, I'm still going to give you shit, all right," Rose said at once. "Don't think for one second that this means I'm changing anything. _You _know I still have a dog, right?"

He nodded, their cheeks brushing. "You know, I actually love dogs," he pointed out. "I only made fun of you because I was jealous, and mad at myself for being jealous. I knew I didn't have any claim over you whatsoever, so I wasn't justified at all in my actions, but I just couldn't help it! There were too many great things about you that just couldn't outweigh the bad."

"I know I might regret asking this," Rose told him. "but like what?"

When he spoke, his voice was fierce. Certainly, Rose knew that Scorpius had a lot of passion in him, but it was still such a shock to hear it directed at her! It was like he was trying to force the meanings of his words deep into her skull, into her heart.

He wanted her to believe them. She did her best to try.

"I love that you let yourself cry with me," he said. "I love that I'm that person who gets to hold you and make things better. I love that you irrationally yell at me for no reason, and that you've forgiven me, despite all the things I've ever said to you. I love that I know what you look like under those robes and what it's like to have you lying next to me, and I was an effing _idiot _for letting you walk out of my life. I think _I'm_ rambling now, and I love you, and–"

Rose cut him off with her lips. She knew this was only the beginning. She knew that there were going to be more things to face, more things they would have to talk about; but the thing was, those things didn't scare her. Rose Weasley, who worried so much about dying alone that she effectively ruined all of her relationships as a result, was _not _afraid to talk about the future!

It was exhilarating.

Vaguely, she thought that people were probably staring. She knew that Albus and Eve were going to tease the hell out of them for this – getting off at a wedding, how _original_ – but she couldn't bring herself to care.

They had the rest of their lives to figure everything out.

"Come on," she muttered into his lips, feeling his grin against her skin. "Let's dance … if you _think_ you can."

His eyes sparkled at the challenge.

* * *

Sometimes, it was terrifying and sometimes, it was thrilling. But being in love with Scorpius Malfoy had its perks and there was _no_ sometimes about that.

* * *

_Fin_

* * *

A/N: Last part! I wrote this entire story in one go and didn't plan a single thing, so I really had no idea that any of this was going to happen, but hey, it did!

And I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you so much for all of the reviews and support, you are all so amazing!

Please review and let me know what you think. :)

Until next time -

- Moon. :D


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